Association of Acculturation Status with Longitudinal Changes in Health-Related Quality of Life—Results from a Cohort Study of Adults with Turkish Origin in Germany

Abstract

Health-related quality of life (HRQL) among migrant populations can be associated with acculturation (i.e., the process of adopting, acquiring and adjusting to a new cultural environment). Since there is a lack of longitudinal studies, we aimed to describe HRQL changes among adults of Turkish descent living in Berlin and Essen, Germany, and their association with acculturation. Participants of a population-based study were recruited in 2012–2013 and reinvited six years later to complete a questionnaire. Acculturation was assessed at baseline using the Frankfurt acculturation scale (integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization). HRQL was assessed at baseline (SF-8) and at follow-up (SF-12) resulting in a physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) sum score. Associations with acculturation and HRQL were analyzed with linear regression models using a time-by-acculturation status interaction term. In the study 330 persons were included (65% women, mean age ± standard deviation 43.3 ± 11.8 years). Over the 6 years, MCS decreased, while PCS remained stable. While cross-sectional analyses showed associations of acculturation status with both MCS and PCS, temporal changes including the time interaction term did not reveal associations of baseline acculturation status with HRQL. When investigating HRQL in acculturation, more longitudinal studies are needed to take changes in both HRQL and acculturation status into account.

Effects of Sociodemographic Variables and Depressive Symptoms on MoCA Test Performance in Native Germans and Turkish Migrants in Germany

“…For example, in Germany, language barriers and low educational level of immigrated persons are known to negatively influence access to the German health care system [ 10 ]. Moreover, recent studies show correlations also between level of acculturation and health-related quality of life [ 11 , 12 ]. However, cognitive screening tools that provide normative values for migrants are lacking.…”

Ethnic Identity and Collective Self-Esteem Mediate the Effect of Anxiety and Depression on Quality of Life in a Migrant Population

“…At an operational level, it can be defined as the level of satisfaction and well-being in several domains of daily life [ 4 ] that is the product of a cognitive evaluation process based on subjective standards of comparison [ 5 ]. In a non-diseased migrant population, there is some evidence of a relationship between perceived quality of life and age, gender, income level, close relationships, the process and strategies of acculturation, social support, discrimination, and stress [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”