A small study of women in the Middle East has found very high rates of depressive symptoms among mothers living in refugee camps.
In a survey of 60 Syrian and Lebanese women in Beirut, Imperial College London researchers found that Syrian refugee mothers had more symptoms of depression, with three-quarters warranting psychiatric assessment.
The findings, published this month in Scientific Reports, reveal that symptoms were made worse when the women were illegal residents, had domestic violence or a history of mental illness.
An estimated 5.5 million people have been displaced by the civil war in Syria, one million of whom are believed to be in neighbouring Lebanon.
Dr Kerrie Stevenson, from the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, said the work highlights the “urgent need for more research focusing on mental health of refugees, and to improve their access to mental health services”.
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