ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2014
A "refugee paradox" for substance use disorders?
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 74 citations in OpenAlex.
- Understanding the Healthy Immigrant Effect in the Context of Mental Health Challenges: A Systematic Critical Review.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Equity-Related Determinants of Frequent Emergency Department Visits for Substance Use Disorders: A Population-Based Study in Ontario, Canada.The International journal of social psychiatry · 2026Article
- Hispanic sexual minority individuals, linguistic acculturation, and behavioral health: Evidence of a healthy migrant effect.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- Observational
- Dhagan Celis (Cultural Rehabilitation): Somali Canadians Transnational Approach to Youth Substance Use.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2024Article
- Responding to Trauma: A Critical Review of Mental Health and Psychosocial Interventions for Refugee Women.Current psychiatry reports · 2024Review
- Good practice in reaching and treating refugees in addiction care in Germany - a Delphi study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- School Nurses' Experiences of Health Promotion for School-Age Asylum Seekers.The Journal of school nursing : the official publication of the National Association of School Nurses · 2023Article
- Participants in Court-mandated Intervention Programs for Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators with Substance Use Problems: A Systematic Review of Specific Risk Factors.Psychosocial intervention · 2023Article
- Commentary on Saleh et al: The triple burden of stigma experienced by forcibly displaced people with substance use disorder - considerations for research and practice.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2023Article
- The burden of substance use and (mental) distress among asylum seekers: a cross sectional study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Social determinants of ethno-racial inequalities in substance use: a decomposition of national survey data.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2022Article
- Alcohol use among Congolese Babembe male refugees in Tarrant County: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2022Article
- Escaping the past and living in the present: a qualitative exploration of substance use among Syrian male refugees in Germany.Conflict and health · 2021Article
- Pre-migration traumatic experiences, post-migration perceived discrimination and substance use among Russian and Kurdish migrants-a population-based study.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2020Article
- Substance use disorders in refugee and migrant groups in Sweden: A nationwide cohort study of 1.2 million people.PLoS medicine · 2019Article
- Overeating and binge eating among immigrants in the United States: new terrain for the healthy immigrant hypothesis.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2019Article
- Immigrants and mental disorders in the united states: New evidence on the healthy migrant hypothesis.Psychiatry research · 2018Article
- Factors Associated with Refugee Acute Healthcare Utilization in Southern Connecticut.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFew, if any, studies have systematically examined the link between nativity and substance use disorders (SUD) among refugees using national samples. As such, it remains uncertain if the "immigrant paradox" for substance use can be extended to include refugees in the United States.
methodsEmploying data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, we examine the lifetime prevalence of SUDs among refugees (n=428) in contrast with non-refugee immigrants (n=4955) and native-born Americans (n=29,267). We also examine the impact of gender and refugee duration on the relationship between nativity, refugee status, and SUDs.
resultsRefugees were between 3 and 6 times less likely than native-born Americans meet criteria for all SUDs examined, and significantly less likely than non-refugee immigrants to meet criteria for alcohol (AOR=0.44, 95% CI=0.41-0.47), cocaine (AOR=0.54, 95% CI=0.50-0.59), hallucinogen (AOR=0.66, 95% CI=0.58-0.74), and opioid/heroin (AOR=0.62, 95% CI=0.58-0.66) use disorders. The refugee-SUD link was significantly moderated by gender. Duration as a refugee was associated with increased risk for alcohol use disorder and decreased risk of cannabis and illicit drug use disorders.
conclusionsStudy findings provide evidence in support of a "refugee paradox" for SUDs among adults in the United States. Refugees are substantially less likely than native-born Americans to meet criteria for all SUDs examined and, albeit with weaker effects, significantly less likely than non-refugee immigrants to meet criteria for a variety of SUDs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.