Abstract
Human migration is not a new phenomenon, but it has changed significantly with the advance of globalization. We focus on differences in the published literature concerning migration and health (EU vs the US), centering specifically on reproductive health outcomes. We conducted a literature search in the Pubmed and Embase databases. We reviewed papers that contrast migrants to native-born populations and analyzed differences between countries as well as challenges for future research. The prevalence of low birthweight among migrants varies by the host country characteristics as well as the composition of migrants to different regions. The primary driver of migrant health is the migrant “regime” in different countries at specific periods of time. Future health outcomes of immigrants will depend on the societal characteristics (legal protections, institutions and health systems) of host countries.
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Abbreviations
- LBW:
-
Low birth weight
- VLBW:
-
Very low birth weight
- MLBW:
-
Moderate low birth weight
- SGA:
-
Small-for-gestational-age
- PTB:
-
Preterm birth
- GDM:
-
Gestational diabetes mellitus
- RR:
-
Relative risk
- US:
-
United States
- NYC:
-
New York City
- EU:
-
European Union
- CA:
-
California
- FL:
-
Florida
- HI:
-
Hawaii
- ID:
-
Idaho
- IL:
-
Illinois
- KY:
-
Kentucky
- MN:
-
Minnesota
- MO:
-
Missouri
- NH:
-
New Hampshire
- NJ:
-
New Jersey
- NY:
-
New York
- OH:
-
Ohio
- OK:
-
Oklahoma
- PA:
-
Pennsylvania
- SC:
-
South Carolina
- TN:
-
Tennessee
- TX:
-
Texas
- UT:
-
Utah
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Carol Ann Mita (from the Countway library of the Harvard School of Public Health) for her useful support on the bibliographic search, Vera Schölmeric (from the Erasmus University Medical Centre) for her useful comments on the paper and Raj Bhopal (from the University of Edinburgh) and David Ingleby (from the University of Amsterdam) for their information regarding European data disaggregated by ethnic group and migration.
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This systematic review did not require IRB approval.
New Contribution to the Literature
The prevalence of low birthweight among migrants varies by the host country characteristics as well as the composition of migrants to different regions. Studies do not take into account the reasons for migration, which makes the comparisons between countries and health outcomes difficult. An equally important but frequently neglected driver of migrant health is the migrant “regime” in different countries. Differences in migrant regimes can only be assessed via an explicit cross-national comparative perspective, which is often lacking in studies of migrants.
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Villalonga-Olives, E., Kawachi, I. & von Steinbüchel, N. Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes Among Immigrant Women in the US and Europe: A Systematic Review. J Immigrant Minority Health 19, 1469–1487 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-016-0483-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-016-0483-2