Background: The length of stay in asylum centres is generally mentioned as a possible health risk to asylum seekers. Medical staff working with asylum seekers has claimed that long lengths of stay in asylum centres might cause or aggravate mental disorders. We used records from a large, multiethnic group of asylum seekers to study if the incidence of mental disorders increased with length of stay.

The non-Western immigrants are healthier in terms of alcohol and vegetable consumption and unhealthier with regard to leisure-time physical activity. The non-Western immigrants are less likely to report that their own effort is important in maintaining good health.

The work of NEWPIN was pioneered in the London Borough of Southwark in 1982. It was influenced by the rising child abuse figures, which were higher than the national average, and the low take-up of ante- and postnatal services in the district. A study of mothers with young children in Camberwell (Brown & Harris, 1978) had revealed that there was a high incidence of maternal depression within the group. This also influenced the direction NEWPIN was to take.