Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Region of Birth and Disability Among Recent U.S. Immigrants: Evidence from the 2000 Census

  • Published:
Population Research and Policy Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study aimed to test the “healthy immigrant” hypothesis and assess health heterogeneity among newly arrived working-age immigrants (18–64 years) from various regions of origin. Using the 5% sample of the 2000 U.S. Census (PUMS), we found that, compared with their native-born counterparts, immigrants from all regions of the world were less likely to report mental disability and physical disability. Immigrants from selected regions of origin were, however, more likely to report work disability. Significant heterogeneity in disabilities exists among immigrants: Those from Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia reported the highest risk of mental and physical disability, and those from East Asia reported the lowest risk of physical disability. Furthermore, Mexican immigrants reported the lowest risk of mental disability, and Canadian immigrants reported the lowest risk of work disability. Socioeconomic status and English proficiency partially explained these differences. The health advantage of immigrants decreased with longer U.S. residence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Controlling for physical disability and mental disability revealed only immigrants from Canada and Western Europe reporting lower work disability than their native-born counterparts.

  2. Additional analyses with the sample excluding immigrants from these three countries indicate that other Southeast Asian groups exhibit a slightly higher risk of mental disability and physical disability compared to Mexican immigrants. (Results are available upon request.)

  3. In our sample the majority immigrants (86%) came to the U.S. in adulthood (18 years old), and the median age at arrival was 26. A test suggested a low correlation (r = –0.3) between the age at arrival and duration of U.S. residence. Analyses based on a sample including immigrants who arrived at age 26 or younger and a sample including immigrants who arrived after age 26 yielded similar results regarding duration effect.

References

  • Abraido-Lanza, A. F., Dohrenwend, B. P., Ng-Mak, D. S., & Turner, J. B. (1999). The Latino mortality paradox: A test of the “salmon bias” and healthy migrant hypotheses. American Journal of Public Health, 89, 1543–1548.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Acevedo-Garcia, D., Soobader, M. J., & Berkman, L. F. (2005). The differential effect of foreign-born status on low birth weight by race/ethnicity and education. Pediatrics, 115(1), e20–e30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Akresh, R. I., & Frank, R. (2008). Health selection among new immigrants. American Journal of Public Health, 98(11), 2058–2064.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alderete, E., Vega, W. A., Kolody, B., & Aguilar-Gaxiola, S. (2000). Lifetime prevalence of and risk factors for psychiatric disorders among Mexican migrant farmworkers in California. American Journal of Public Health, 90(4), 608–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, T. M., Wiggins, C., Key, C. R., & Samet, J. M. (1988). Ischemic heart disease mortality in Hispanics, American Indians, and Non-Hispanic Whites in New Mexico, 1958–1982. Circulation, 78, 302–309.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhugra, D., & Becker, M. A. (2005). Migration, cultural bereavement and cultural identity. World Psychiat, 4(1), 18–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biddle, N., Kennedy, S., & McDonald, J. T. (2003). Health assimilation patterns among immigrants to Australia. Paper presented at the Australian Conference of Economists, Canberra.

  • Blomstedt, Y., Johansson, S., & Sundquist, J. (2007). Mental health of immigrants from the former Soviet Bloc: A future problem for primary health care in the enlarged European Union? A cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 7, 27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borjas, G. J. (1994). The economics of immigration. Journal of Economic Literature, 32(4), 1667–1717.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breslau, J., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Borges, G., Kendler, K. S., Su, M., & Kessler, R. C. (2007). Risk for psychiatric disorder among immigrants and their U.S. born descendants: Evidence from the national comorbidity survey-replication. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 195(3), 189–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calsyn, R. J., Winter, J. P., & Yonker, R. D. (2001). Should disability items in the Census be used for planning services for elders? The Gerontologist, 41(5), 583–588.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, J., Ng, E., & Wilkins, R. (1996). The health of Canada’s immigrants in 1994–95. Health Reports, 7(4), 33–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chi, C. H. (1994). Integrating traditional medicine into modern health care systems: Examining the role of Chinese medicine in Taiwan. Social Science and Medicine, 39(3), 307–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cho, Y., & Hummer, R. A. (2001). Disability status differentials across fifteen Asian and Pacific Islander groups and the effect of nativity and duration of residence in the U.S. Social Biology, 48, 171–195.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cho, Y., Frisbie, W. P., Hummer, R. A., & Rogers, R. G. (2004). Nativity, duration of residence, and the health of Hispanic adults in the United States. The International Migration Review, 38, 184–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, S. A., Ruben, J., & Venkat Narayan, K. M. (2008). Health of foreign-born people in the United States: A review. Health and Place, 14(4), 623–635.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dey, A. N., & Lucas, J. W. (1998). Physical and mental health characteristics of U.S.- and foreign-born adults: United States, 1998–2003. Advance Data, 369, 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elo, I. T., Mehta, N., & Huang, C. (in press). Disability among native born and foreign born blacks in the United States. Demography.

  • Espenshade, T. J., & Calhoun, C. A. (1993). An analysis of public opinion toward undocumented immigration. Population Research and Policy Review, 12, 189–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Espenshade, T. J., & Fu, H. (1997). An analysis of English-language proficiency among U.S. immigrants. American Sociological Review, 62(2), 288–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farley, R. (1996). The new American reality: Who we are, how we got here, where we are going. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frisbie, W. P., Cho, Y., & Hummer, R. A. (2001). Immigration and the health of Asian and Pacific Islander adults in the United States. American Journal of Epidemiology, 153, 372–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frumkin, H. (2003). Agent orange and cancer: An overview for clinicians. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 53, 245–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuentes-Afflick, E., & Hessol, B. (1997). Impact of Asian ethnicity and national origin on infant birth weight. American Journal of Epidemiology, 145(2), 148–155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goel, M. S., McCarthy, E. P., Phillips, R. S., & Wee, C. C. (2004). Obesity among U.S. immigrant subgroups by duration of residence. Journal of the American Medical Association, 292(23), 2860–2867.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood, M. J., & Ziel, F. A. (1998). The impact of the Immigration Act of 1990 on U.S. immigration. Working paper. http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/uscir/respapers/tio-main.pdf.

  • Gregg, E. W., Beckles, G. L., Williamson, D. F., Leveille, S. G., Langlois, J. A., Engelgau, M. M., et al. (2000). Diabetes and physical disability among older U.S. adults. Diabetes Care, 23, 1272–1277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayward, M. D., & Heron, M. (1999). Racial inequality in active life among adult Americans. Demography, 36, 77–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hummer, R. A., Biegler, M., DeTurk, P. B., Forbes, D., Frisbie, W. P., Hong, Y., et al. (1999). Race/ethnicity, nativity, and infant mortality in the United States. Social Forces, 77, 1083–1118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jasso, G., Massey, D. S., Rosenzweig, M. R., & Smith, J. P. (2004). Immigrant health-selectivity and acculturation. In N. B. Anderson, R. A. Bulatao, & B. Cohen (Eds.), Critical perspectives on racial and ethnic differences in health in late life (pp. 227–266). Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jasso, G., Douglas, M., Rosenzweig, M., & Smith, J. P. (2005). Immigration, health, and New York City: Early results based on the U.S. New immigrant cohort of 2003. FRBNY Economic Policy Review, 11(2), 127–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, M., Huguet, N., Newsom, J., & McFarland, B. (2004). The association between length of residence and obesity among Hispanic immigrants. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 27(4), 323–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, M., Han, H. R., Kim, K. B., & Duong, D. N. (2002). The use of traditional and Western medicine among Korean American elderly. Journal of Community Health, 27(2), 109–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lauderdale, D. S., & Kestenbaum, B. (2002). Mortality rates of elderly Asian American populations based on Medicare and social security data. Demography, 39(3), 529–540.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liao, Y., Cooper, R. S., Cao, G., Durazo-Arvizu, R., Kaufman, J. S., Luke, A., et al. (1998). Mortality patterns among adult Hispanics: Findings from the NHIS, 1986 to 1990. American Journal of Public Health, 88(2), 227–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markides, K. S., & Coreil, J. (1986). The health of Hispanics in the southwestern United States: An epidemiologic paradox. Public Health Reports, 101(3), 253–265.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massey, S. D. (1995). The new immigration and ethnicity in the United States. Population and Development Review, 21(3), 631–652.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, H. B. M. (1977). Migration, culture, and mental health. Psychological Medicine, 7(4), 677–684.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mutchler, J. E., Baker, L. A., & Lee, S. (2007a). Grandparents responsible for grandchildren in Native-American families. Social Science Quarterly, 88(4), 990–1009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mutchler, J. E., Prakash, A., & Burr, J. A. (2007b). The demography of disability and the effects of immigrant history: Older Asians in the United States. Demography, 44(2), 251–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagi, S. Z. (1991). Disability concepts revisited: Implications for prevention. In A. Pope & A. Tarlov (Eds.), Disability in America: Toward a national agenda for prevention. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nathan, D. M. (1993). Long-term complications of diabetes mellitus. New England Journal of Medicine, 328, 1676–1685.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nemtsov, A. V. (2002). Alcohol-related human losses in Russia in the 1980s and 1990s. Addiction, 97(11), 1413–1425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neylan, T. C., Lenoci, M., Rothlind, J., Metzler, T. J., Schuff, N., Du, A. T., et al. (2004). Attention, learning, and memory in posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17(1), 41–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Novello, A. C., Wise, P. H., & Kleinman, D. V. (1991). Hispanic health: Time for data, time for action. Journal of the American Medical Association, 265(2), 253–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oza-Frank, R., Stephenson, R., & Venkat Narayan, K. M. (2009). Diabetes prevalence by length of residence among U.S. immigrants. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, August 18 (online).

  • Pablos-Mendez, A. (1994). Letter to the editor. Journal of the American Medical Association, 271, 1237–1238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palloni, A., & Arias, F. (2004). Paradox lost: Explaining the Hispanic adult mortality advantage. Demography, 41(3), 385–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palloni, A., & Morenoff, J. (2001). Interpreting the paradoxical in the Hispanic paradox: Demographic and epidemiological approaches. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 140–174.

  • Rogers, R. G., Hummer, R. A., Nam, C. B., & Peters, K. (1996). Demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors affecting ethnic mortality by cause. Social Forces, 74, 1419–1438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, D., Benson, C., & Dooley, B. (2007). Forced migration and psychological stress. In B. Fanning (Ed.), Immigration and social change in Ireland. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scribner, R. (1996). A paradox as paradigm: The health outcomes of Mexican Americans. American Journal of Public Health, 86, 303–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, G., & Siahpush, M. (2002). Ethnic immigrant differentials in health behaviors, morbidity and cause-specific mortality in the United States: An analysis of two national data bases. Human Biology, 74(1), 83–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sorlie, P. D., Backlund, E., Johnson, N. J., & Rogot, E. (1993). Mortality by Hispanic status in the United States. Journal of the American Medical Association, 270(20), 2464–2468.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suarez-Orozco, M. M. (2001). Globalization, immigration, and education: The research agenda. Harvard Educational Review, 71(3), 345–365.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turra, C., & Elo, I. (2008). The impact of Salmon bias on the Hispanic mortality advantage: New evidence from social security data. Population Research and Policy Review, 27(5), 515–530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ulrich Ronellenfitsch, U., & Razum, O. (2004). Deteriorating health satisfaction among immigrants from Eastern Europe to Germany. International Journal of Equity and Health, 3(1), 4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verbrugge, L. M., & Jette, A. M. (1994). The disablement process. Social Science and Medicine, 38, 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verger, P., Cordier, S., Thuy, L. T. B., Bard, D., Dai, L. C., Phiet, P. H., et al. (1994). Correlation between dioxin levels in adipose tissue and estimated exposure to Agent Orange in South Vietnamese residents. Environmental Research, 65, 226–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voydanoff, P. (1990). Economic distress and family relations: A review of the eighties. Journal of Marriage and Family, 52, 1099–1115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waidmann, T., & Liu, L. (2000). Disability trends among elderly persons and implications for the future. Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 55, S298–S307.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldrop, J., & Stern, S. M. (2003). Disability status: 2000 brief. Washington, DC: U. S. Census Bureau.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weil, E., Wachterman, M., McCarthy, E. P., Davis, R. B., O’Day, B., Iezzoni, L. I., et al. (2002). Obesity among adults with disabling conditions. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288, 1265–1268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wells-Dang, A. (2006). A regional approach: Mine and UXO risk reduction in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Journal of Mine Action, 9(2), 12–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, A. P., Burke, A., & LeBaron, S. (2007). Use of traditional medicine by immigrants Chinese patients. Family Medicine, 39(3), 195–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zsembik, B., & Fennell, D. (2005). Ethnic variation in health and the determinants of health among Latinos. Social Science and Medicine, 61(1), 53–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1599 Clifton Road, NE., Room 6404, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    Cheng Huang, Solveig A. Cunningham, Rob Stephenson, David F. Williamson & K. M. Venkat Narayan

  2. School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

    Neil K. Mehta

  3. Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

    Irma T. Elo

Authors
  1. Cheng Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Neil K. Mehta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Irma T. Elo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Solveig A. Cunningham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Rob Stephenson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. David F. Williamson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. K. M. Venkat Narayan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cheng Huang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Huang, C., Mehta, N.K., Elo, I.T. et al. Region of Birth and Disability Among Recent U.S. Immigrants: Evidence from the 2000 Census. Popul Res Policy Rev 30, 399–418 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-010-9194-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-010-9194-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation