Respiratory Health in Migrants and Refugees

Migrants include workers, students, undocumented individuals, and refugees. Migrants comprise approximately 14% of the world’s population or 984 million people. Of these 984 million migrants, about 62.8 million were forcibly displaced from their homes and 20.5 million were considered refugees. To date, relatively little is known about the impact of migration on respiratory health. In this article, we briefly summarize what is known about environmental and occupational hazards, chronic non-infectious respiratory diseases, and respiratory infections in migrants and refugees. We then outline key research needs, while emphasizing that reducing the burden of pulmonary, critical care and sleep disorders in migrants and refugees will require a concerted effort by all stakeholders, including governmental and non-governmental organizations, migrant and refugee communities, and researchers, public health practitioners, and healthcare providers focused on improving respiratory health in this population.