The Effects of Years Lived in the United States on the General Health Status of California’s Foreign-Born Populations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of immigrant status and years lived in the United States on the general health status of California's foreign-born populations. Two models were constructed using California's aggregate adult population and the adult foreign-born population. A binary logistic regression was conducted using data from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey. California's immigrant populations were found to enjoy a self-assessed health advantage compared to California's US-born population. The results present evidence of a downward trend in self-assessed health amongst California's foreign-born population associated with increased years lived in country. The initial health advantage found among California's foreign-born appears to function mainly through socio-economic factors. These results suggest that the deterioration in health associated with increased years lived in the US may be an effect of immigrants' exposure to California's environmental determinants of human health rather that the loss of culture-specific protective factors.

Barriers to Healthcare Among Asian Americans

“…Many researchers found an inverse relationship between years of residence and health status among foreign-born Americans (Frisbie, Cho, & Hummer, 2001;Uretsky & Mathiesen, 2007). Two other hypotheses have been proposed to explain the effect of immigration on health.…”

Does nativity matter?

“…Immigrants experience better self-assessed health, lower rates of many serious diseases, and lower risks of mortality than their native-born counterparts (Cho et al 2004;Uretsky and Mathiesen 2007). The health advantage that immigrants enjoy can be explained, in part, by health behaviors, as immigrants are less likely than natives to smoke, to drink, or to be overweight (Abraído-Lanza, Chao, and Flórez 2005;Cho et al 2004;Yang and Martínez 2006).…”

Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Disease Risk of Ghanaian‐ and Nigerian‐Born West African Immigrants in the United States: The Afro‐Cardiac Study

“…The “healthy immigrant effect,”10, 11 which suggests that new immigrants are healthier than their host counterparts due to self‐selection and immigration policies, is a well‐accepted phenomenon; however, through acculturation, the health of immigrants declines or improves with increasing years of residence in high‐income countries through the loss of culture‐specific health‐protective practices or adoption of health behaviors of the host society 11, 12, 13. Changes in socioeconomic conditions, food supply, health systems and policies, and cultural traditions14, 15, 16, 17 experienced by immigrants have been posited as reasons for deteriorating or improving health.…”