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Health and well-being of male international migrants and non-migrants in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional follow-up study

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  • Randall Kuhn
  • Tania Barham
  • Abdur Razzaque
  • Patrick Turner

Abstract

Background: Temporary labor migration is an increasingly important mode of migration that generates substantial remittance flows, but raises important concerns for migrant well-being. The migration and health literature has seen a growing call for longitudinal, binational surveys that compare migrants to relevant non-migrant counterfactual groups in the sending country, in order to answer the basic question “Is migration good for health?” This study compares the health of male international migrants, internal migrants, and non-migrants using a unique representative panel survey of the Matlab subdistrict of Bangladesh. Methods and findings: A cohort of 5,072 respondents born 1958–1992 were interviewed in 1996–1997, and reinterviewed in 2012–2014. Extensive migrant follow-up yielded a 92% reinterview rate. We explored health and income outcomes for respondents who at the time of the follow-up interview were current international migrants (n = 790), returned international migrants (n = 209), internal migrants (n = 1,260), and non-migrants (n = 2,037). Compared to non-migrants, current international migrants were younger (mean 32.9 years versus 35.8 years), had more schooling (7.6 years versus 5.8 years), and were more likely to have an international migrant father (9.7% versus 4.0%) or brother (49.1% versus 30.3%). We estimated multivariate ordinary least squares and logistic regression models controlling for a wide range of control variables measured as far back as 1982. Results show that current international migrants had substantially better health status on factors that likely relate to self-selection such as grip strength and self-rated health. Current international migrants had no excess risk of injury in the past 12 months compared to non-migrants (adjusted mean risk = 6.0% versus 9.3%, p = 0.084). Compared to non-migrants, current international migrants had roughly twice the risk of overweight/obesity (adjusted mean risk = 51.7% versus 23.3%, p

Suggested Citation

  • Randall Kuhn & Tania Barham & Abdur Razzaque & Patrick Turner, 2020. "Health and well-being of male international migrants and non-migrants in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional follow-up study," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(3), pages 1-19, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pmed00:1003081
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003081
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    Cited by:

    1. Leena Neethu & Dr. Helan A. P., 2021. "The Health Issues And Problems Faced By Returnees From Gulf Countries In Kerala," International Journal of Economic Sciences, European Research Center, vol. 10(1), pages 71-83, June.
    2. Marion Heyeres & Nirukshi Perera & Hyacinth Udah & Akpene Attakey & Mary Whiteside & Komla Tsey, 2021. "Interventions Targeting the Wellbeing of Migrant Youths: A Systematic Review of the Literature," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, September.
    3. Yuni Asri & Kun-Yang Chuang, 2023. "Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Depressive Symptoms among Indonesian Migrant Workers in Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-12, February.

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