Afghan refugee children and mothers.
OBJECTIVE
Although the more than 6 million Afghan refugees represent the largest single group of refugees worldwide, little information is available about their health status.


METHODS
Case series assessing the health and socioeconomic status of female Afghan refugees and their families and the nutritional and developmental status of their children.


METHODS
Fifty-one female Afghan refugees and their children accompanying them at a maternal child health clinic in Quetta, Pakistan.


RESULTS
All families had suffered serious losses from the war. Thirty-three women (65%) had lost at least one liveborn child, most commonly to gastroenteritis, "hunger," or neonatal tetanus. Thirteen children had been killed by bombardment, mine injuries, or gunshot wounds. The nutritional status of the children was markedly poor: z scores were less than -2 for weight in 67% of children and also less than -2 for head circumference in 50% of children. Serial z scores for weight in 23 children showed marked decline in 15 children (65%). Sixty-nine percent of children were overdue for vaccinations. Developmental milestones were significantly delayed.


CONCLUSIONS
Afghan refugee children and their mothers are extremely needy and vulnerable and may be considered among the hidden casualties of war.
Department of Pediatrics, Floating Hospital for Children, Tufts/New England Medical Center, Boston, Mass.
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Miller
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Timouri
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Wijnker
J G
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Schaller
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000346:Afghanistan / Q000208:ethnology; D002657:Child Development; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D010154:Pakistan; D012036:Refugees; D017584:Reproductive History; D012923:Social Class; D014611:Vaccination; D016387:Women's Health