Health of asylum seekers in Bielefeld: a cross-sectional pilot study

Since 2015 a great many refugees have come to Germany, yet adequate health data of this heterogeneous group of people remain limited. This cross-sectional pilot study aims to identify relevant demographic information and health data of asylum seekers of an asylum center in Bielefeld, Germany. The study is based on the analysis of management data and assessment of 99.6 % of the medical records of 2671 asylum seekers living in this asylum center. It was found that most of its asylum seekers were young and healthy. However 3 % of this group did present with complex health issues. The study also identified considerable differences in health and disease prevalence amongst asylum seekers from different countries. Further studies involving several asylum centers in Germany are required to obtain robust health data of asylum seekers in this country.