PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Cynthia Xinyi Qian
AU  - Yang Zhao
AU  - Kanya Anindya
AU  - Naveen Tenneti
AU  - Allissa Desloge
AU  - Rifat Atun
AU  - Vicky Mengqi Qin
AU  - Patrick Mulcahy
AU  - John Tayu Lee
TI  - Non-communicable disease risk factors and management among internal migrant in China: systematic review and meta-analysis
AID  - 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003324
DP  - 2021 Sep 01
TA  - BMJ Global Health
PG  - e003324
VI  - 6
IP  - 9
4099  - http://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e003324.short
4100  - http://gh.bmj.com/content/6/9/e003324.full
SO  - BMJ Global Health2021 Sep 01; 6
AB  - Background In 2019, there are more than 290 million people who have ever migrated from rural to urban areas in China. These rural-to-urban internal migrants account for more than one-fifth of China’s population and is the largest internal migrant group globally. We present the first systematic review that examines whether internal migrants are more likely to exhibit non-communicable diseases (NCDs) risk factors and have worse NCD management outcomes than non-migrant counterparts in China.Methods A systematic review was conducted via medical, public health, and economic databases including Scopus, MEDLINE, JSTOR, WHO Library Database and World Bank e-Library from 2000 to 2020. Study quality was assessed using the National Institute of Health Quality Assessment tool. We conducted a narrative review and synthesised differences for all studies included, stratified by different types of outcomes. We also conducted random-effects meta-analysis where we had a minimum of two studies with 95% CIs reported. The study protocol has been registered with PROSPERO: CRD42019139407.Results For most NCD risk factors and care cascade management, comparisons between internal migrants and other populations were either statistically insignificant or inconclusive. While most studies found migrants have a higher prevalence of tobacco use than urban residents, these differences were not statistically significant in the meta-analysis. Although three out four studies suggested that migrants may have worse access to NCD treatment and both studies suggested migrants have lower blood pressure control rates than non-migrants, these findings were not statistically significant.Conclusion Findings from this systematic review demonstrate that there is currently insufficient evidence on migrant and non-migrant differences in NCD risk factors and management in China. Further research is expected to investigate access to healthcare among internal and its effect on both their NCD outcomes and long-term healthcare costs in China.Data sharing not applicable as no datasets generated and/or analysed for this study.