Keren Ladin1, Steffen Reinhold. 1. Program in Health Policy, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. kladin@post.harvard.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Though working-age immigrants exhibit lower mortality compared with those domestic-born immigrants, consequences of immigration for mental health remain unclear. We examine whether older immigrants exhibit a mental advantage and whether factors believed to underlie immigrant vulnerability explain disparities. METHOD: The sample includes 12,247 noninstitutionalized men more than 50 years in 11 European countries. Multivariate logistic regression models estimated the impact of physical health, health behaviors, availability of social support, social participation, citizenship, time since immigration, socioeconomic status (SES), and employment on the mental health of immigrants. RESULTS: Immigrants face 1.60 increased odds of depression despite a physical health advantage, evidenced by 0.74 lower odds of chronic illness. SES and availability of social support were predictive, though acculturation measures were not. Decomposition analysis revealed that only approximately 20% of the variation in depression rates between immigrants and native-born peers were explained by commonly cited risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Despite physical health advantages, older immigrants suffer substantially higher depression rates. Time since immigration does not appear to mitigate depressive symptoms.
OBJECTIVES: Though working-age immigrants exhibit lower mortality compared with those domestic-born immigrants, consequences of immigration for mental health remain unclear. We examine whether older immigrants exhibit a mental advantage and whether factors believed to underlie immigrant vulnerability explain disparities. METHOD: The sample includes 12,247 noninstitutionalized men more than 50 years in 11 European countries. Multivariate logistic regression models estimated the impact of physical health, health behaviors, availability of social support, social participation, citizenship, time since immigration, socioeconomic status (SES), and employment on the mental health of immigrants. RESULTS: Immigrants face 1.60 increased odds of depression despite a physical health advantage, evidenced by 0.74 lower odds of chronic illness. SES and availability of social support were predictive, though acculturation measures were not. Decomposition analysis revealed that only approximately 20% of the variation in depression rates between immigrants and native-born peers were explained by commonly cited risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Despite physical health advantages, older immigrants suffer substantially higher depression rates. Time since immigration does not appear to mitigate depressive symptoms.
Authors: E J Lenze; J C Rogers; L M Martire; B H Mulsant; B L Rollman; M A Dew; R Schulz; C F Reynolds Journal: Am J Geriatr Psychiatry Date: 2001 Impact factor: 4.105
Authors: M J Prince; A T Beekman; D J Deeg; R Fuhrer; S L Kivela; B A Lawlor; A Lobo; H Magnusson; I Meller; H van Oyen; F Reischies; M Roelands; I Skoog; C Turrina; J R Copeland Journal: Br J Psychiatry Date: 1999-04 Impact factor: 9.319
Authors: Bridget F Grant; Frederick S Stinson; Deborah S Hasin; Deborah A Dawson; S Patricia Chou; Karyn Anderson Journal: Arch Gen Psychiatry Date: 2004-12
Authors: F B van der Wurff; A T F Beekman; H Dijkshoorn; J A Spijker; C H M Smits; M L Stek; A Verhoeff Journal: J Affect Disord Date: 2004-11-15 Impact factor: 4.839
Authors: Ibrahim Abubakar; Robert W Aldridge; Delan Devakumar; Miriam Orcutt; Rachel Burns; Mauricio L Barreto; Poonam Dhavan; Fouad M Fouad; Nora Groce; Yan Guo; Sally Hargreaves; Michael Knipper; J Jaime Miranda; Nyovani Madise; Bernadette Kumar; Davide Mosca; Terry McGovern; Leonard Rubenstein; Peter Sammonds; Susan M Sawyer; Kabir Sheikh; Stephen Tollman; Paul Spiegel; Cathy Zimmerman Journal: Lancet Date: 2018-12-05 Impact factor: 202.731