Healthy Migrant Effect on Smoking Behavior Among Asian Immigrants in the United States

Abstract

Healthy migrant effect (HME) of immigrants has been evidenced in various heath aspects. However, few studies have explored the applicability of HME on Asian immigrants' health risk behavior-smoking. This study used three waves of Current Population Survey-Tobacco Use Supplement data, 1998-1999, 2005-2006, and 2010-2011, to compare the rates of being a current smoker among Asian immigrants and United States born citizens. Further, the odds ratios of gender, age, marital status, socioeconomic status, years of migration, and citizenship status on the likelihood of being a current smoker were examined. Across the three waves, Asian immigrants smoked at a much lower rate than their native-born counterparts. The gender gap of being a current smoker was much wider among Asian immigrants. The longer the Asian immigrants stayed in the United States, the more likely they were to become current smokers. These data confirmed the association of HME and Asian immigrants' smoking behavior, and also provided strong evidence of the importance of smoking prevention among Asian immigrants. This study also implied the possibility of a decline in the effectiveness of HME on Asian immigrants as the time they spent in the United States increased.

Tobacco smoking between immigrants and non‐immigrants in Australia: A longitudinal investigation of the effect of nativity, duration of residence and age at arrival

“…Second, contrary to earlier study that show a decline in smoking rates after long‐term residence among some immigrants groups, we found a clear indication of convergence of smoking behaviour of immigrants from NESC with NB respondents after 20 or more years of residence in Australia. However, our results are similar to other studies on Asian immigrants in Australia and other immigrant receiving countries . This observed increase in smoking prevalence of immigrants from NESC with increased DoR in the host country could be explained by processes of acculturation .…”

“…First, with respect to the lower prevalence of smoking among immigrants from NESC found in this study, our patterns are consistent with most of the earlier studies comparing immigrants from non‐English speaking backgrounds to the host population in Australia and North America . But, in contrast to the earlier studies showing higher smoking prevalence among British‐born and North American immigrants compared with NB Australians, this study found no differences in smoking between immigrants from ESC and NB Australians.…”

“…However, our results are similar to other studies on Asian immigrants in Australia 7 and other immigrant receiving countries. 9,10,33 This observed increase in smoking prevalence of immigrants from NESC with increased DoR in the host country could be explained by processes of acculturation. 3,9 The basic assumption is that the longer one resides in the host country the greater is the exposure to the host culture and the stronger the influence of the host culture on behaviour.…”

Intergenerational differences in smoking among West Indian, Haitian, Latin American, and African blacks in the United States

“…Prior studies have found that most immigrant subgroups, including black immigrants, are less likely to smoke than their native-born racial/ethnic counterparts upon arrival in the United States ( Acevedo-Garcia et al, 2005 , King et al, 1999 , Siahpush et al, 2009 , Singh and Siahpush, 2002 ). Smoking rates among immigrants, however, tend to increase as their tenure of U.S. residence increases ( Acevedo-Garcia et al, 2010a ; Alcántara et al, 2015 ; Kuerban, 2016 ; Leung, Ang, Thumboo, Wang, Yuan & Koh, 2014 ; Pérez-Stable et al, 2001 ; Singh & Siahpush 2002 ), a factor often thought to produce a convergence in health outcomes between immigrants and the U.S.-born. While a number of studies have investigated changes in smoking behavior among first-generation immigrants, several gaps exist in the extant literature on smoking, particularly among blacks in the United States.…”

“…Prior research has suggested that selective migration (e.g., individuals with the best health profiles in the origin country are more likely to move to the United States) and immigrant cultural practices that promote good health behaviors play a significant role in producing immigrants’ initial health advantage ( Jasso, Massey, Rosenzweig & Smith, 2005 ). Researchers have argued that changes in health behaviors, particularly smoking patterns, are one of the primary factors that generate the decline in immigrants’ health as their tenure of U.S. residence increases ( Gorman et al, 2014 , Kuerban, 2016 , Siahpush et al, 2009 ). Singh and Siahpush (2002) showed that while newly arrived immigrants were 52 percent less likely to smoke compared to their U.S.-born counterparts, these nativity advantages decreased to 32 and 18 percent, respectively, for those residing in the United States for 10–15 and more than 15 years.…”