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Vitamin D Deficiency
Prevalence Vitamin D deficiency has been found to be common in refugee children. 1,2 One study found the prevalence among refugees treated at Australian health centres to be between 40% and 80%. 3 Definition The best indicator of vitamin D status is serum concentration of 25-hydroxy-vitamin-D (25OHD). 4 Current Canadian…
Iodine Deficiency
Prevalence The global prevalence of iodine deficiency is high: about 2 billion people worldwide, including one-third of school-aged children. 1 The prevalence is greater in regions where there is a lack of iodine fortification in foods such as salt. This is especially significant in regions that are far away from…
Vitamin A Deficiency
Prevalence Vitamin A deficiency is common in low-resource countries, particularly among refugees. For example, one-third of adolescent refugees in Nepal and up to two-thirds of African refugee children have been reported to have vitamin A deficiency. 1,2 Definition Vitamin A status can be identified by measuring serum retinol concentrations to…
Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Prevalence Since vitamin B12 is primarily found in animal, dairy and egg products, there is an increased incidence of deficiency among people with restrictive vegetarian diets or in places where access to protein sources is low, including refugee camps or regions of severe poverty. Rates of vitamin B12 deficiency may…
Iron Deficiency
Prevalence Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide. 1 It affects one-half of children living in low-resource countries and the reported prevalence of its consequence – anemia – is also high among refugee children. 1 Iron deficiency among children who were long-term African refugees has been estimated to…
Travel-related Illness
Immigrant families often travel back to their home countries, which puts them at risk for illnesses they may not be exposed to in Canada: Canadian travellers took about 14.2 million overseas (non-US) trips in 2025. Visiting friends and relatives abroad is the second most common reason for Canadian residents to…
About Malnutrition
The risk of malnutrition depends on the type of newcomer and their region of origin. Rates of malnutrition are high in refugee children 1 and in internationally adopted children 2 from resource-poor areas. Children who migrate from resource-poor countries may also present with malnutrition. Although data for paediatric newcomers to…
Malaria
Epidemiology and risk factors Malaria is a febrile illness associated with high morbidity and mortality rates in children in the tropics, especially sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and, less frequently, some parts of Central and South America. In 2018, nearly half the world’s population were at risk of malaria. During that year…
Child Development: Issues and assessment
Cultural context In Canada, children with disabilities are included in most aspects of life and have opportunities to be active members of society. This is not the case in all other countries. Newcomers may come from societies where knowledge and attitudes toward children with disabilities is very different from the…
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) affects the lungs and other body tissues, and is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The infection is acquired by inhaling droplet nuclei from the respiratory secretions of people who have infectious pulmonary TB. Bovine TB, caused by the closely related M. bovis , can be acquired by consuming contaminated…