Health Status of Immigrants in the United States

Melonie P. Heron, RAND
Robert Schoeni, University of Michigan
Leo Morales, RAND

In light of increased immigration to the U.S. over the past thirty years, our objective is to examine the unique patterns of health status among immigrants aged 55 and over, using more detailed racial/ethnic categories than previously done. We explore health disparities within the immigrant population and between immigrants and natives of the same racial/ethnic group. We use logistic regression to analyze data from the 1992-1995 National Health Interview Survey. Immigrants are less likely to report an activity limitation or to be obese, but yet report themselves in worse general health. The differences among immigrants arriving from different countries, and between immigrants and persons born in the U.S. who are of the same race/ethnicity are substantial. For some groups and health measures, a large share of the differences are explained by disparities in socioeconomic status; however, for others, the majority of the differences remain after adjusting for education and income.