Mortality among young immigrants to California: injury compared to disease deaths.

The authors "investigated adolescent and young adult immigrants' risk of death due to disease and injury.... The death certificates of 15- to 34-year-old California residents who died from 1989 through 1993 comprised the study population. Disease and injury deaths were identified using ICD-9 codes on the California Master Mortality data files. Frequencies and gender-standardized rates and risk ratios were calculated by nativity (U.S., non-U.S.) and by ethnicity and nativity." The results suggest that "young immigrants, at least in terms of mortality, do not constitute a burden in that they are at lower or similar risk of death than U.S.-born youth." excerpt