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Do Mexican immigrants "import" social gradients in health to the US?

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  • Buttenheim, Alison
  • Goldman, Noreen
  • Pebley, Anne R.
  • Wong, Rebeca
  • Chung, Chang

Abstract

Greater educational attainment is consistently associated with lower mortality and better health, a pattern known as the social gradient. However, recent research suggests that Mexican-origin adults in the US have weak or flat gradients, in contrast to steep gradients for non-Hispanic whites. In this study we evaluate one hypothesis for this finding: Is the relative weakness of education gradients in health behaviors observed among Mexican-origin adults in the US due to weak gradients in the sending population? We test this "imported gradients" hypothesis with data from two nationally-representative datasets: the US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the Mexican National Health Survey (ENSA 2000). We compare education gradients in smoking and obesity for recently-arrived Mexican immigrants in the US to the corresponding gradients in high-migration regions of Mexico. Results partially support the imported gradients hypothesis and have implications for health education and promotion programs targeted to immigrant populations to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health in the US.

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  • Buttenheim, Alison & Goldman, Noreen & Pebley, Anne R. & Wong, Rebeca & Chung, Chang, 2010. "Do Mexican immigrants "import" social gradients in health to the US?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(7), pages 1268-1276, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:71:y:2010:i:7:p:1268-1276
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    2. Acevedo-Garcia, Dolores & Sanchez-Vaznaugh, Emma V. & Viruell-Fuentes, Edna A. & Almeida, Joanna, 2012. "Integrating social epidemiology into immigrant health research: A cross-national framework," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2060-2068.
    3. Reanne Frank & Ilana Akresh, 2013. "Social Patterning in Body Mass Index (BMI) Among Contemporary Immigrant Groups: The Emergence of a Gradient," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(3), pages 993-1012, June.
    4. Buttenheim, Alison M. & Pebley, Anne R. & Hsih, Katie & Chung, Chang Y. & Goldman, Noreen, 2013. "The shape of things to come? Obesity prevalence among foreign-born vs. US-born Mexican youth in California," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1-8.
    5. Fenelon, Andrew, 2013. "Revisiting the Hispanic mortality advantage in the United States: The role of smoking," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 1-9.
    6. Van Hook, Jennifer & Baker, Elizabeth & Altman, Claire E. & Frisco, Michelle L., 2012. "Canaries in a coalmine: Immigration and overweight among Mexican-origin children in the US and Mexico," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 125-134.
    7. Yahirun, Jenjira J. & Sheehan, Connor M. & Hayward, Mark D., 2017. "Adult children's education and changes to parents' physical health in Mexico," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 93-101.
    8. Christina J. Diaz & Stephanie M. Koning & Ana P. Martinez-Donate, 2016. "Moving Beyond Salmon Bias: Mexican Return Migration and Health Selection," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(6), pages 2005-2030, December.
    9. Hiram Beltrán-Sánchez & Alberto Palloni & Fernando Riosmena & Rebeca Wong, 2016. "SES Gradients Among Mexicans in the United States and in Mexico: A New Twist to the Hispanic Paradox?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(5), pages 1555-1581, October.
    10. Ro, Annie & Fleischer, Nancy, 2014. "Changes in health selection of obesity among Mexican immigrants: A binational examination," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 114-124.
    11. Ljunge, Martin, 2016. "Migrants, health, and happiness: Evidence that health assessments travel with migrants and predict well-being," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 35-46.
    12. M Sow & C Schoenborn & M De Spiegelaere & J Racape, 2019. "Influence of time since naturalisation on socioeconomic status and low birth weight among immigrants in Belgium. A population-based study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-15, August.
    13. Chavez, Leo R., 2012. "Undocumented immigrants and their use of medical services in Orange County, California," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(6), pages 887-893.
    14. Almeida, Joanna & Johnson, Renee M. & Matsumoto, Atsushi & Godette, Dionne C., 2012. "Substance use, generation and time in the United States: The modifying role of gender for immigrant urban adolescents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2069-2075.
    15. Margot Jackson & Sara McLanahan & Kathleen Kiernan, 2012. "Nativity Differences in Mothers’ Health Behaviors," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 643(1), pages 192-218, September.
    16. Stoddard, Pamela & Handley, Margaret A. & Vargas Bustamante, Arturo & Schillinger, Dean, 2011. "The influence of indigenous status and community indigenous composition on obesity and diabetes among Mexican adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(11), pages 1635-1643.
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