Longer Residence of Ecuadorian and Colombian Migrant Workers in Spain Associated with New Episodes of Common Mental Disorders

Abstract

The healthy migrant effect and its impact on mental health has been reported in the general population of many countries. Information is limited about its impact on working populations. The aim of this study is to estimate the incidence of common mental disorders over a one-year follow-up period among a cohort of Colombian and Ecuadorian employees in Spain, taking into account the duration of residence and comparing with Spanish-born workers. Data was from the Longitudinal Studies on Immigrant Families Project (PELFI), a follow-up survey of immigrants and Spanish-born workers interviewed in 2015 and 2016. Mental health was assessed using the 12-item general health questionnaire (GHQ-12). Crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORas) for common mental disorders by sociodemographic and employment characteristics were created. There were differences for immigrants with time of residence less than or equal to 15 years (time of residence 11–15 years: ORa = 0.06, 95% CI = (0.26–0.01); time of residence 1–10 years: ORa = 0.06, 95% CI = (0.36–0.01)). There was evidence of a healthy immigrant worker effect, as newer arrivals from Ecuador and Columbia to Spain had a lower incidence of common mental disorders than either the Spanish-born or immigrant workers who had lived in Spain for more than 15 years.

Lifetime and Twelve-Month Prevalence, Persistence, and Unmet Treatment Needs of Mood, Anxiety, and Substance Use Disorders in African American and U.S. versus Foreign-Born Caribbean Women

“…Consistent with studies of mental health and substance use among African and Caribbean immigrants carried out in other countries [ 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ], we found Black women who have migrated from the Caribbean had lower rates of psychiatric disorders than Black women born in the U.S., especially for substance use disorders. These results are consistent with the healthy immigrant literature, which finds that foreign-born populations often have better health and mental health outcomes [ 13 , 16 , 54 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 ]. In addition, this study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the chronic course of mental health and substance use disorders, such as dysthymia and panic disorder in African American women, which appear to persist even for women who have accessed mental health services during the lifetime.…”

Understanding the Healthy Immigrant Effect in the Context of Mental Health Challenges: A Systematic Critical Review

“…Most studies (90%) employed either a cross-sectional or a secondary analysis design (of cross-sectional data), which is limited by the inability to infer a reliable causality (Table 1 and Online Appendix Table S2). Out of the 26 studies that assessed the YSIE phenomenon (Table 1 ), only two European studies used a longitudinal design to reliably examine the change in immigrants’ MH with increased length of residency [ 21 , 90 ]. In an attempt to obtain insight into the trends of change in immigrants’ MH, the other non-longitudinal quantitative studies recruited foreign-born immigrants with different lengths of residency, forming and comparing two groups: recent immigrants and established immigrants.…”

“… Psychological distress [ 76 ] [ 57 , 114 ] 33% 0 Mood disorder [ 59 , 62 ] 100% + Personality disorders [ 62 ] 100% + Psychosis [ 59 ] [ 24 ] 50% ? Substance use disorder [ 59 , 63 , 64 ] [ 83 ] 75% + Depression or anxiety [ 82 , 88 ] [ 116 ] 67% + Anxiety or mood disorder [ 17 , 66 , 87 ] 100% + Overall mental health [ 19 , 31 , 65 – 67 , 84 , ...…”

Determinants of Disability in Minority Populations in Spain: A Nationwide Study

“…This "paradox" has been called the healthy migrant effect [15,16], and it has also been observed and largely discussed in several countries [17][18][19][20]. It has also been noted that immigrants' health tends to deteriorate over the time residing in the host country, even in the following generations [21][22][23]. Acculturation and assimilation into the cultural mainstream of the host society (such as dietary habits) could be determinant in immigrants' health deterioration [24,25].…”