Birth and Health Outcomes of Children Migrating With Parents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE: To examine the birth and health outcomes of children migrating with parents internationally and domestically, and to identify whether the healthy migration effect exist in migrant children. METHODS: Five electronic databases were searched for cross-sectional, case-control, or cohort studies published from January 1, 2000 to January 30, 2021and written by English language, reporting the risk of health outcomes of migrant children (e.g., birth outcome, nutrition, physical health, mental health, death, and substance use) We excluded studies in which participants' age more than 18 years, or participants were forced migration due to armed conflict or disasters, or when the comparators were not native-born residents. Pooled odd ratio (OR) was calculated using random-effects models. RESULTS: Our research identified 10,404 records, of which 98 studies were retrained for analysis. The majority of the included studies (89, 91%) focused on international migration and 9 (9%) on migration within country. Compared with native children, migrant children had increased risks of malnutrition [OR 1.26 (95% CI 1.11–1.44)], poor physical health [OR 1.34 (95% CI 1.11–1.61)], mental disorder [OR 1.24 (95% CI 1.00–1.52)], and death [OR 1.11 (95% CI 1.01–1.21)], while had a lower risk of adverse birth outcome [OR 0.92 (95% CI 0.87–0.97)]. The difference of substance use risk was not found between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Migrant children had increased risk of adverse health outcomes. No obvious evidence was observed regarding healthy migration effect among migrant children. Actions are required to address the health inequity among these populations. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/#myprospero, identifier: CRD42021214115.