New York
Refugees from Hurricane Katrina are at a dramatically increased risk for physical and mental illness, says a study released this week by Columbia University and the Children’s Health Fund. The study of Katrina victims now living in hotels and trailer parks found that 34 percent of the children have asthma, anxiety, or behavioral problems, compared with 25 percent of Louisiana children before the storm. Nearly 40 percent of their parents rate their health as fair or poor, and more than half of mothers suffer from depression and other mental-health problems. Making matters worse, 44 percent of the refugees have no health insurance. “Children and families who have been displaced by the hurricanes,” the study says, “are being pushed further to the edge.”
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