Migrants are people who settle in a foreign country. In 2020, the global migrant population was estimated at about 281 million. Of the patients seen by the Comité pour la santé des exilés (a French non-profit that works to improve the health of refugees), 62% report having experienced violence. Migrant women are particularly exposed to gender-based violence. Among women who have migrated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Cameroon, 39% report having experienced sexual violence, significantly more than the rate among the host population (3.9%).

To analyze the impact of violence on the physical and mental health of migrant women consulting primary health care centers in Paris.

This was a cross-sectional analytical study carried out in two Parisian outpatient clinics. Migrant women were interviewed about whether they had experienced violence prior to their arrival in France. Their medical history and current state of health were also analyzed in light of the violence experienced.

131 migrant female patients were included over a period of three weeks. They were mainly from sub-Saharan Africa (75%), with an average age of 43 years, and 59% of them had experienced violence. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was found in 66% of patients who had experienced violence, and half had symptoms of depression or anxiety, while these symptoms were only present in 22% and 20% respectively of migrant women in the group that had not experienced violence. Furthermore, among the patients who had experienced violence, 48% had cardiac symptoms versus 26%, 53% had respiratory symptoms versus 20%, and 58% had gastrointestinal symptoms versus 23% (p<0.05).

These results indicate the need for particular vigilance regarding the history of violence in the migrant population, due to an increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder frequently associated with physical symptoms.