134 Determinants of health of people with selected citizenships in Germany: Results of the GEDA Fokus study

Abstract

OP 1: Determinants of Health Disease and Interventions 1, B207 (FCSH), September 3, 2025, 14:30 - 15:30

Aims

Health chances and risks of migrants vary according to a wide range of factors. This contribution aims to describe the health of people with selected citizenships on the basis of various indicators and to identify associated social and migration-related factors of the respective outcomes.

Methods

The analyses are based on data from the multilingual and multimodal interview survey GEDA Fokus (11/2021-05/2022), which was conducted among 18- to 79-year-old people with Croatian, Italian, Polish, Syrian or Turkish citizenship living in Germany. In addition to self-rated health (average to very bad vs. good/very good) and the presence of chronic diseases in general, the prevalence of depressive symptoms (PHQ-9) was selected as an indicator of mental health. Prevalence ratios were calculated using Poisson regressions to identify associations between health outcomes and various social as well as migration-related characteristics.

Results

A total of 6,038 people participated in GEDA Fokus, which corresponds to a response rate of 18.4%. Male gender, high education and income, social support and a shorter duration of stay are associated with lower prevalence of poor self-rated health, chronic diseases and symptoms of depression when adjusted for age and citizenship. In contrast, a low sense of belonging to the society in Germany and self-reported experiences of discrimination in everyday life are associated with poorer physical and mental health.

Conclusion

The results point to health inequalities among people of selected citizenships that are partly caused by mechanisms of social exclusion. Furthermore, the results highlight the diversity of factors affecting migrants’ health and the importance of differentiated analyses to identify specific needs and vulnerabilities for targeted interventions.