Migration Selection, Protection, and Acculturation in Health: A Binational Perspective on Older Adults

Abstract

In this article, we test for four potential explanations of the Hispanic Health Paradox (HHP): the “salmon bias,” emigration selection, and sociocultural protection originating in either destination or sending country. To reduce biases related to attrition by return migration typical of most U.S.-based surveys, we combine data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study in Mexico and the U.S. National Health Interview Survey to compare self-reported diabetes, hypertension, current smoking, obesity, and self-rated health among Mexican-born men ages 50 and older according to their previous U.S. migration experience, and U.S.-born Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites. We also use height, a measure of health during childhood, to bolster some of our tests. We find an immigrant advantage relative to non-Hispanic whites in hypertension and, to a lesser extent, obesity. We find evidence consistent with emigration selection and the salmon bias in height, hypertension, and self-rated health among immigrants with less than 15 years of experience in the United States; we do not find conclusive evidence consistent with sociocultural protection mechanisms. Finally, we illustrate that although ignoring return migrants when testing for the HHP and its mechanisms, as well as for the association between U.S. experience and health, exaggerates these associations, they are not fully driven by return migration-related attrition.

Morbidity, Self-Perceived Health and Mortality Among non-Western Immigrants and Their Descendants in Denmark in a Life Phase Perspective

“…From this review, we can paradoxically conclude that non-Western immigrants in Denmark in general have more chronic diseases and report poorer health but live longer than ethnic Danes. In the United Stated a similar paradox among Mexican immigrants compared to non-Hispanic whites has been documented and called the Hispanic Health Paradox [4]. Several interacting explanations are suggested: emigration selection reflecting that the people who migrate are healthier than those, who do not migrate.…”

“…Sociocultural protective factors where the migration networks are considered to enable migrants to cope better with stress and promote health. That international difference in epidemiological regimens affects the comparison of health between migrants and host population and finally that migrants are subject to negative acculturation reflecting that migrants with integration engage with unhealthier lifestyles [4].…”

“…Exposure to health risks in their home countries, strains during and after migration and poor socioeconomic conditions may result in stress and risk behavior leading to ill health. Yet, due ''the healthy immigrant effect'', immigrants may also enjoy a better health than native-born, assuming that healthy (rather than ill or weak) persons migrate and therefore bring a lower risk for disease to the host country as well as healthier lifestyles [4,5]. The outcome of these contradicting assumptions may depend on population group and host society.…”

Healthy Migrant Effect on Smoking Behavior Among Asian Immigrants in the United States

“…Recent studies have found that foreign-born Asian immigrants' smoking rate is lower than the general United States population [12][13][14][15]. For instance, in Baluja, Park, and Myers' study [13], they reported that in years 1995-1996 and 1998-1999, foreign-born Asian immigrants smoking rate was 11.8 %, whereas the smoking rate of native-born (all races combined) was 22.6 %.…”

Differences in perinatal health between immigrant and native-origin children: Evidence from differentials in birth weight in Spain

“…Fortunately, research showing the crucial relevance of both ends of the weight distribution has become more common recently, and the implications of the reexamined evidence for debates on public health have started to emerge (Hamilton and Choi 2015). The higher prevalence of macrosomia in certain ethnic groups and/or specific migrant communities, together with the well-known health-related risks such as metabolic disease and obesity associated with HBW, have recently led to increased awareness of the potential role of migration processes in the spread of infant and adult obesity in both sending and receiving countries (Riosmena et al 2013).…”