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Revisiting the Healthy Migrant Paradox in Perinatal Health Outcomes Through a Scoping Review in a Recent Host Country

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Abstract

Ample evidence shows that, in many developed countries, immigrants have similar or better perinatal health outcomes than natives despite facing socioeconomic disadvantages in the host country (“healthy migrant paradox” –HMP). This scoping review aims to: (1) summarize the literature on perinatal health among immigrants and natives in Spain and (2) examine whether there is evidence of the HMP in a context of recent migration. A total of 25 articles published between 1998 and 2014 were reviewed. Overall, we found evidence of the HMP in low birthweight and to a lesser extent in preterm, though the patterns vary by origin, but not in macrosomia and post-term. The results are consistent across settings, levels of adjustment, and birth year. Policies should be oriented towards identifying the modifiable risk factors leading to a higher risk of macrosomia and post-term among immigrants.

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Acknowledgments

SJ was funded by SIMSAM-Lund Early-life (VR # 2013-5474. PI Rignell-Hydbom). This review was carried out within the framework of a national review project across several research fields of the Subprogram of Immigration which belongs to the Health Consortium Biomedical Research Network, Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Health Equity Studies, Stockholm University/Karolinska Institute, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden

    Sol P. Juárez

  2. Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of Lund, Lund, Sweden

    Sol P. Juárez

  3. Department of Health Promotion and Development, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Gaby Ortiz-Barreda

  4. Public Health Research Group, University of Alicante, San Vicente del Raspeig, Spain

    Gaby Ortiz-Barreda, Andrés A. Agudelo-Suárez & Elena Ronda-Pérez

  5. Faculty of Dentristry, University of Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia

    Andrés A. Agudelo-Suárez

  6. CIBERESP Immigration and Health Subprogram, Madrid, Spain

    Elena Ronda-Pérez

  7. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red, CIBER, Barcelona, Spain

    Elena Ronda-Pérez

  8. Center for Research in Occupational Health (Cisal), Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain

    Elena Ronda-Pérez

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  1. Sol P. Juárez
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  2. Gaby Ortiz-Barreda
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  3. Andrés A. Agudelo-Suárez
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Correspondence to Sol P. Juárez.

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Juárez, S.P., Ortiz-Barreda, G., Agudelo-Suárez, A.A. et al. Revisiting the Healthy Migrant Paradox in Perinatal Health Outcomes Through a Scoping Review in a Recent Host Country. J Immigrant Minority Health 19, 205–214 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-015-0317-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-015-0317-7

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