Aging into disadvantage: Disability crossover among Mexican immigrants in America

Disability and self-rated health: Exploring foreign- and U.S.-born differences across adulthood

“…Specifically, many middle-age foreign-born individuals report lower rates of functional limitation and disability than U.S.-born individuals but lose this advantage later in life ( Melvin et al., 2014 ). This phenomenon has been referred to as ‘disability crossover’ ( Sheftel and Heiland, 2018 ), ( Levchenko, 2021 ). Also, foreign-born individuals generally arrive to the U.S. with lower obesity rates than their U.S.-born counterparts, though immigrant risk of obesity increase with longer duration in the U.S. ( Singh et al., 2013 ).…”

Health Patterns among Migrant and Non-Migrant Middle- and Older-Aged Individuals in Europe—Analyses Based on Share 2004–2017

“…And the hypothesis of cumulative disadvantage states that across the lifespan, socioeconomic disadvantages cumulate and lead to an increase in health risks and health inequalities between migrant and non-migrant elderly populations [15]. Evidence exists for the accumulation of disadvantage [13,16,17], for aging-as-leveler [18], and for persistent inequality [19], with most of the research focusing on black, Hispanic and non-Hispanic white populations in the US.…”

Mexican immigrant health advantage in metabolic syndrome? Examining the contributions of demographic, socioeconomic, and health behavior characteristics

“…Immigrants have lower mortality rates than US-born individuals ( Dupre et al, 2012 ), less disability during their working years ( Levchenko, 2021 ; Markides et al, 2007 ), and fewer chronic health conditions, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and stroke ( Brown, 2018 ; Gorman et al, 2010 ). In the US, this “immigrant health advantage” is particularly well-documented amongst the Mexican-origin population ( Cho et al, 2004 ).…”

“…Immigrants' health tends to decline shortly after migration ( Goldman et al, 2014 ), with evidence that initial health advantages erode significantly and can even disappear altogether within the first decade of relocation ( Antecol & Bedard, 2006 ). One prominent explanation points to the detrimental effects of acculturation on immigrant health behaviors through exposure to US society, which has been supported as a leading explanation for the “disability crossover” ( Levchenko, 2021 ), whereby Mexican immigrants with an initial age-specific disability advantage in their working years later have higher rates of disability relative to US-born whites at older ages regardless of educational achievement ( Levchenko, 2021 ). However, more nuanced explanations have also been offered, guided by segmented assimilation theory and related frameworks from the immigrant integration literature ( Portes & Zhou, 1993 ).…”

“…Consistent with this framework of multiple acculturative processes, research comparing Mexican migrants to non-migrants remaining in Mexico shows that those who migrate are more likely to experience significant short-term changes in health, whether positive or negative, with an overall trend towards health deterioration for the majority of recent Mexican immigrants ( Goldman et al, 2014 ). However, evidence consistent with various acculturative processes does not rule out the possibility that discrimination and other structural forces may be operating simultaneously to influence patterns of immigrant health deterioration regardless of socioeconomic standing and level of integration into US society ( Levchenko, 2021 ). Thus, others have also focused on social inequality as a root cause of immigrant health declines, acknowledging that Mexican immigrants across the socioeconomic spectrum may face varying levels of discrimination and chronic stress due to how they are perceived and treated within US society ( Viruell-Fuentes et al, 2012 ).…”