General and Mental Health of Arab-Americans Living in the United States: A Systematic Review of The Literature

Objective: This review aims to summarize the sparse peer-reviewed literature concerned with the health of Arab Americans (AAs) in the US. Background. The scientific literature on AAs has been limited due to some extent to the invisibility of AAs based on their identification as “White” in Census data and elsewhere. Attention to this population has increased with current political events, yet limited research addresses the health and well-being of AAs in the US. Methods. a systematic review of studies published between 2008 and 2017 was conducted via PubMed and MEDLINE. The search was limited to English-language studies. Keywords used for the search included the following: Arab Americans, Middle Eastern, minor ethnicity, health, mental health and general well-being. We limited our review to these years to reflect current thinking about the relation between ethnicity and health. Result. The original search provided 74 publications of which 42 were excluded because they were not measuring general health or mental health outcomes. Therefore, 31 studies were included in this review. Nine studies concerned with the AAs’ general mental health outcomes. Four studies addressed depression status in AAs. Three studies mentioned anxiety and mood of this population. Post-traumatic stress disorders were measured in seven different studies. Finally, eight studies measured general health status. Conclusion. The paucity of published studies on the health of AAs in the US highlights the overall lack of knowledge of this population at the public health level.