Paper short abstract:

Refugees compared with matched non-refugees had more cardiac illness and more depression, but had nothing like the 'demographic shock' of post-socialist Europe, 1989-1995.

Paper long abstract:

This paper uses qualitative and quantitative data on informant-reported health outcomes for two Greek Cypriot village cohorts, one displaced, the other not displaced. Supplementary data from a national diabetes prevalence study confirmed a possible link between refugee status and greater probability of cardio-vascular illness. Depressive illness also seemed higher among the refugee village cohort.

But the paper suggests why in spite of such illnesses, the Greek Cypriots have done rather better in health terms than the post-socialists of eastern Europe, 1989-1995, but argues that refugees in failing states may have much worse health outcomes.