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Background: During the last decades, global migration has increased and many immigrant groups have a higher prevalence than the native born population of several cardiovascular disease risk factors, including poor dietary habits. However, it is uncertain if dietary habits in immigrant populations reflect dietary habits in their country of origin or if the current diet is a consequence of the migration and possible change of dietary habits. The aim of this study was to examine possible dietary differences between elderly Iranians living in Stockholm, Sweden with elderly Iranians living in Tehran, Iran, taking into account sex, age, marital status, and education. Methods: Dietary intakes were assessed by semi - quantitative food frequency questionnaire in a cross-sectional study of 121 Iranians living in Stockholm and 52 Iranians living in Tehran, aged 60-80. Differences in dietary habits between the two groups was analysed by bootstrapped regression analyses with 1000 replications. Results: Iranians living in Sweden had significantly higher intake of protein, total fat, fiber than Iranians living in Iran, but lower consumption of carbohydrates. The observed differences in intake of macronutrients were reflected in consumed amount of all food items, which were higher among Iranians living in Iran with the exception of bread and grain consumption which was lower. Conclusions: There are general differences in dietary habits between Iranians living in Iran and Iranians living in Sweden. Parts of observed differences in dietary habits may reflect a favourable adoption process to the Swedish dietary habits after migration. Meanwhile other differences are point of concern in light of the high prevalence of overweight, among Iranians living in Sweden and can have unfavourable impact in particular in the context of cardiovascular health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our knowledge of the immigrant patient's experiences and reflections regarding consultations in primary health care where interpreters are used is limited. Thus, the primary aim was to explore these experiences and reflections. The second aim was to study whether demographic and migration-related factors are associated with the patient's satisfaction with the consultation and feeling of consolation given by the general practitioner (GP). The third aim was to analyse whether these feelings are related to the time from the booking to the consultation, to self-reported health, symptoms and the patient's experiences. A questionnaire was distributed to 78 consecutive immigrant patients from Chile, Iran and Turkey at 12 primary healthcare centres around Stockholm. The respondents were asked about their background and health status, while open-ended questions focused on their experiences and comments regarding the consultation and cross-cultural communication in general. Ethical approval was obtained. The respondents consisted of 52 patients, 16 from Chile, nine from Iran and 27 from Turkey. Most of the answers concerned communication problems because of language and cultural differences between the GP and the patient and the GP's ability to listen. Therefore, the importance of having a competent interpreter for a satisfactory consultation was stressed. Many of the respondents also felt that the GP's ability to listen to them and understand them is crucial in the consultation. Background facts, including demographic and migration-related factors, health status and factors related to the consultation, did not seem to be associated with the patient's satisfaction and the feeling of consolation. One limitation is that the sample is small and not equally distributed. The use of authorized interpreters during the consultation is essential. The consultation must be based on a patient-centred strategy and adjusted to the patient's educational level. Cultural competence is needed when meeting immigrant patients.

Aims: To analyse whether there is an association between sex and poor self-reported health (SRH) and psychological distress in Kurdish immigrants., Methods: This cross-sectional study is based on a sample consisting of immigrants, aged 27- 60 years, with self-reported Kurdish ethnicity (n=111, men; n=86, women) in Sweden originating from Iran and Turkey. It is based on data collected in 1996 from the first Swedish National Survey on the living conditions of immigrant groups conducted by Statistics Sweden. The prevalences of reporting poor health, sleeping difficulties, general fatigue and anxiety were estimated by sex. The association between sex and SRH and psychological distress was analysed by an unconditional logistic regression model estimating odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals. The final model was adjusted for age, marital status, education, housing and employment. Immigrant-specific migration-related variables were used to explore possible reasons for the sex differences., Results: Kurdish men and women had a high prevalence of poor SRH and psychological distress. Age-adjusted odds ratios for anxiety were higher in Kurdish women. Sex differences in anxiety remained even when marital status, education, housing and employment were taken into account., Conclusions: Kurdish men and women report a high prevalence of poor SRH and indicators of psychological distress. Women had a higher risk for anxiety than men. Negative experiences of pre-migration as well as post-migration experiences, such as economic difficulties, preoccupation with the political situation in the home country, perceived discrimination, and feelings of poor control over one's life, were associated with the outcomes.

Background: [corrected] The proportion of elderly immigrants in Sweden is increasing. This is an important issue considering that the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a global health problem and that CVD is one of the main causes of morbidity among the elderly. The aim of this study is to analyze whether there is an association between migration status, that is being an elderly Iranian immigrant in Sweden, as compared with being an elderly Iranian in Iran, and the prevalence of risk factors for CVD., Design: Population-based cross-sectional study with face-to-face interviews., Participants and Setting: A total of 176 Iranians in Stockholm and 300 Iranians in Tehran, aged 60-84 years., Methods: The prevalence of general obesity, abdominal obesity, hypertension, smoking, and diabetes was determined. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for outcomes., Results: The age-adjusted risk of hypertension and smoking was higher in Iranian women and men in Sweden. OR for hypertension was 1.9 (95% CI: 1.1-3.2) for women and 3.1 (95% CI: 1.5-6.3) for men and OR for smoking was 6.9 (95% CI: 2.2-21.6) for women and 4.7 (95% CI: 2.0-11.0) for men. The higher risk for hypertension and smoking remained significant after accounting for age, socioeconomic status, and marital status. Abdominal obesity was found in nearly 80% of the women in both groups., Conclusion: The findings show a strong association between migration status and the prevalence of hypertension and smoking. Major recommendation for public health is increased awareness of CVD risk factors among elderly immigrants.

Background: Although elderly Iranian immigrants in Sweden are the largest elderly group born outside Europe, little is known about their health-related quality of life (HRQL). The aim of this study was to examine the association between migration status and HRQL in a comparison of elderly Iranians in Iran, elderly Iranian immigrants in Sweden, and elderly Swedes in Sweden., Methods: The Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) was administered to a total of 625 men and women aged 60-84 years to collect HRQL information on elderly Iranians in Sweden (n = 176) and elderly Iranians in Iran (n = 298). A Swedish control group (n = 151) was also randomly selected from the general population. Multiple linear regression procedures were applied to analyze data while adjusting for age, which was categorized into 60-69, and 70-84 years, and education., Results: Iranian women in Sweden with shorter times of residence scored lower on vitality (beta-coefficient = -7.9, 95% CI = -14.3 to -1.5) compared with other women in this study. The lower vitality dimension score remained nearly unchanged in the main model (beta-coefficient = -7.3, 95% CI = -13.7 to -0.9). A longer period of residence in Sweden had a positive association with social functioning (beta-coefficient = 14.1, 95% CI = 3.1-25.1) and role limitation due to emotional problems (beta-coefficient = 18.3, 95% CI = 1.4-35.2) among elderly Iranian women. In general, the Swedish subsample scores higher on all dimensions of the SF-36 among women and in six out of eight among men in relation to the rest of the subsamples., Conclusion: The HRQL of elderly Iranians in Sweden was more like that of their countrymen in Iran than that of Swedes, who reported a better HRQL than Iranians in this study. However, length of time since migration to Sweden is not associated with poorer HRQL among elderly Iranians. The association varied, however, with sex. Elderly Iranian women showed an increase in two of eight dimensions of the SF-36 with additional years in Sweden, whereas, among elderly Iranian men, additional years in Sweden were not associated with HRQL.

This study explores the association between ethnicity and poor self-reported health and psychological distress, sleeping difficulties, and use of psychotropic drugs among immigrant Kurdish men and native Swedish men, based on data from the first Swedish National Survey of Immigrants and the Swedish Level-of-Living Surveys collected in 1996 by Statistics Sweden. The age-adjusted odds of poor self-reported health and sleeping difficulties among Kurdish men was about 3.5 times higher than among Swedish men. The odds ratio decreased to 2.1 and 2.7 respectively in a model adjusted for age and the other explanatory variables. Yearning for the home country, perceived discrimination and unemployment in the host country seem to be possible explanations for the higher levels of distress among Kurdish immigrants to Sweden.