The Latino mortality paradox: a test of the "salmon bias" and healthy migrant hypotheses.

Abstract

Numerous studies have indicated that lower socioeconomic status (SES) is related to poor health, in terms of both morbidity and mortality. immortal,"''4(0"237) resulting in an artificially low Latino mortality rate.Although the salmon bias hypothesis has not been tested, some evidence suggests that it is plausible. One study'5 estimated return migration rates ofvarious foreign-born groups based on data from a program requiring immigrants to submit yearly address reports to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Lower-and upper-bound return migration estimates (assuming a 50% and 100% response rate for filing address reports) ranged from 15.6% to 56.2% for Mexicans, 52.4% to 72.5% for South Americans, and 49.6% to 69.5% for Central Americans and Caribbean persons (excluding Cubans).Although return migration (both permanent and temporary) depends on specific community, economic, and social network factors, 1617 it can be substantial. As many as 75% of households in Mexican migrant towns engage in return migration from the United States.'8 Despite the methodologic shortcomings and the specificity of communities surveyed, these studies suggest that the salmon effect and healthy migrant hypothe-

Who donates their bodies to science? The combined role of gender and migration status among California whole-body donors

“…Research in both fields finds that being an immigrant or the child of one can lead to differential integration outcomes across several dimensions, including health (Abraido-Lanza et al, 1999;Viruell-Fuentes, 2007), education (Kao & Tienda, 1995;Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2009), and overall life chances (Kasinitz et al, 2008;Portes & Rumbaut, 2006). Including parents' and donors' migration status in our analyses revealed the attributes' importance in discerning new configurations of donors, an occurrence previously untested in the U.S. context.…”

Residential Segregation and Latino, Black and White Mortality in New York City

“…27 One of the two previous studies examining Latino mortality and segregation did not include any adjustment for area level immigration status or individual level immigration. 33 We adjusted for percent foreign-born in our statistical models since foreign-born persons not only may have differential mortality patterns but also may influence and/or provide contextual factors that influence health and mortality. [34][35][36][37][38][39][40] In our study, adjusting for foreign-born status attenuated the effect of percent Latino race on mortality but most particularly in Latino women.…”

Nativity Status and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Among Hispanic Adults

“…On the death certificates, decedents were classified as foreign born if they were born in any of the US territories (eg, Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands) or other foreign countries listed, as has been done in previous literature exploring nativity status and mortality 26, 27, 28. In the 2000 and 2010 censuses, however, individuals self‐identified as US born if they were born within the 50 states or the District of Columbia or “outside the United States” including Puerto Rico, the US Island Areas, or abroad of American parents.…”