The aim of our study was to systematically review the literature on physical health and related consequences of internal and international parental migration on left-behind children (LBC). This review followed PRISMA guidelines. We searched the PubMed, Web of Science, Academic Search Complete, PsycINFO, and Cochrane databases and included studies reporting physical health-related outcomes of children affected by parental migration. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. We selected 34 publications from a total of 6061 search results. The study found that LBC suffer from poor physical health as compared with non-LBC. Physical health-related risk factors such as underweight, lower weight, stunted growth, unhealthy food preferences, lower physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, injuries, and incomplete vaccination tend to be more prevalent among LBC in China. Studies focussing on international migration argue that having migrant parents might be preventive for undernutrition. Overall, our study showed that children affected by internal or international migration tend to have similar physical health outcomes. Moreover, we identified a lack of evidence on international parental migration that may have influenced the overall impacts. Further studies addressing international migration would contribute to better understand the impacts of migration for LBC.
Background Children left behind (CLB) are those, who have been left behind at their original residence while one or both parents migrate to other places for work. The aim of this study was to systematically review studies where the physical health consequences for CLB were analysed. Methods We searched the Web of Science, PubMed, Academic Search Complete, PsycINFO and Cochrane databases. We included studies reporting physical health outcomes of children affected by parent migration. Results We selected 35 studies from a total of 2191. The results reveal that, overall, the absence of one or both parents is related to poorer child health - the nutrition of CLB is not healthy or balanced and is insufficient, leading to higher rates of anaemia and poor growth indicators of affected children. Boys left by parents are smaller than boys who were never left behind. CLB face lower underweight or stunted growth risks due to the additional income from remittances which ensures sufficient food for the household, this can also lead, however, to overweight and obesity. Unhealthy lifestyle behaviours such as smoking, alcohol, food preferences, lower physical activity and higher risk of injuries were more prevalent among CLB. CLB were more likely not to have completed the recommended vaccination programme than those living with their parents. Opinions vary on how emigration of parents affects children’s well-being and quality of life. CLB had higher probabilities of higher well-being than children living in non-migrant households. However, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of CLB scored significantly lower than HRQoL of non-left-behind children. Conclusions The migration of parents has negative impacts on the child’s physical health, however it can also have positive impacts on children’s well-being when basic needs for sufficient nutrition are not satisfied in the home countries. Public health interventions should be taken to ensure the health of the CLB population. Key messages This is the first systematic review on the physical health of CLB. The well-being of CLB is poorer and they are at risk of health problems, such as insufficient and/or unbalanced diet, unhealthy behaviours and incomplete vaccination status.
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