Metabolic, mental health, behavioural and socioeconomic characteristics of migrants with Chagas disease in a non-endemic country
type: Article
item type: journalArticle
is part of: Trop Med Int Health
authors: Person
  surname: Jackson
  given name: Y.
authors: Person
  surname: Castillo
  given name: S.
authors: Person
  surname: Hammond
  given name: P.
authors: Person
  surname: Besson
  given name: M.
authors: Person
  surname: Brawand-Bron
  given name: A.
authors: Person
  surname: Urzola
  given name: D.
authors: Person
  surname: Gaspoz
  given name: J. M.
authors: Person
  surname: Chappuis
  given name: F.
subject: *Health Behavior
subject: Adolescent
subject: Adult
subject: Bolivia/ethnology
subject: Cardiovascular Diseases/*epidemiology/psychology
subject: Chagas Disease/*epidemiology/physiopathology/psychology
subject: Cohort Studies
subject: Comorbidity
subject: Cross-Sectional Studies
subject: Emigrants and Immigrants/psychology/*statistics & numerical data
subject: Europe/epidemiology
subject: Female
subject: Humans
subject: Latin America/ethnology
subject: Male
subject: Mental Disorders/*epidemiology/psychology
subject: Metabolic Diseases/*epidemiology/psychology
subject: Middle Aged
subject: Prevalence
subject: Risk Factors
subject: Sedentary Behavior
subject: Smoking/epidemiology/psychology
subject: Socioeconomic Factors
subject: Young Adult
abstract: OBJECTIVES: Chronic Chagas disease causes cardiopathy in 20-40% of the 8-10 million people affected. The prevalence of atherogenic factors increases rapidly in Latin America. Somatic, mental, behavioural and social characteristics of the 80,000 Latino migrants with Chagas disease in Europe are not known. We postulate that they may accumulate these factors for poor health--notably cardiovascular-outcomes. METHODS: This study took place at the Geneva University Hospitals in 2011. Latin American migrants with Chagas disease diagnosed in Geneva since 2008 were contacted. Interviews and blood tests assessed behavioural, socioeconomic, metabolic and cardiovascular factors. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-seven patients (women: 84.7%; median age: 43 years) with chronic Chagas disease were included in the study. The majority were Bolivians (94.2%), undocumented (83.3%), uninsured (72.3%) and living below the Swiss poverty line (89.1%). Prevalence of obesity was 25.5%, of hypertension 17.5%, of hypercholesterolemia 16.1%, of impaired fasting glucose 23.4%, of diabetes 2.9%, of metabolic syndrome 16.8%, of anxiety 58.4%, of depression 28.5%, of current smoking 15.4% and of sedentary lifestyle 62.8%. High (>10%) 10-year cardiovascular risk affected 12.4%. CONCLUSIONS: Latin American migrants with Chagas disease accumulate pathogenic chronic conditions of infectious, non-transmissible, socioeconomic and behavioural origin, putting them at high risk of poor health, notably cardiovascular, outcomes. This highlights the importance of screening for these factors and providing interventions to tackle reversible disorders; facilitating access to care for this hard-to-reach population to prevent delays in medical interventions and poorer health outcomes; and launching prospective studies to evaluate the long-term impact of these combined factors on the natural course of Chagas disease.
date: 2012-04-11
pages: 595-603
coverage: 22487303

Trop Med Int Health
type: Journal
volume: 17
number: 5
identifier: DOI 10.1111/j.1365-3156.2012.02965.x
identifier: ISSN 1365-3156 (Electronic) 1360-2276 (Linking)