Head injuries, traumas, and neuropsychiatric sequela in asylum seekers

Importance: Asylum seekers experience a high burden of physical and psychological trauma, yet there is a scarcity of literature regarding the epidemiology and sequelae of head injury (HI) in asylum seekers.

Objective: To examine head injury prevalence and related neuropsychiatric comorbidities in asylum seekers.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study through review of 139 medical affidavits from an affidavit database was performed. Affidavits written from 2010 – 2018 were included. Demographic and case-related data were collected and classified based on the presence of head injury. Primary study outcome measurement was prevalence of head injury and headache. Secondary outcomes included the neuropsychiatric sequelae of head injury including depression, PTSD, anxiety, memory/concentration deficits, and the prevalence of abusive and traumatic history. Hypothesis and outcome measures were determined before data extraction.

Results: One hundred and thirty-nine medical affida...