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Mood disorders in first- and second-generation immigrants: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Irina Mindlis  and
Paolo Boffetta
Irina Mindlis
Affiliation:
Lic, Division of General Internal Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA
Paolo Boffetta
Affiliation:
Institute for Translational Epidemiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA
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Abstract

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Background

Although there are consistent reports of higher psychosis rates among immigrants, the information on mood disorders is limited.

Aims

To review and quantify the difference in incidence of mood disorders in first- and second-generation immigrant (FGI and SGI) groups v. non-immigrants.

Method

PubMed, EMBASE and PsycINFO were searched for articles from cohort studies reporting incidence of mood disorders among FGIs and SGIs.

Results

Eighteen studies met our inclusion criteria. The summary relative risk (RR) for FGIs was 1.25 (95% CI 1.11–1.41), based on 17 effect sizes and 6120 cases, and 1.16 (95% CI 0.96–1.40) for SGIs based on three effect sizes. Men seemed at higher risk (RR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.06–1.56).

Conclusions

Clinicians should view FGIs as a group at risk of mood disorders, especially men. Further research is needed to understand immigrants' risk, especially in SGI.

Type
Review Articles
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 210 , Issue 3 , March 2017 , pp. 182 - 189
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2017 

Footnotes

Declaration of interest

None.

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