Health selection among new immigrants.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to quantify the extent of health selection (i.e., the degree to which potential immigrants migrate, or fail to migrate, on the basis of their health status) among contemporary US immigrant groups and evaluate the degree that selection explains variation in self-rated health among US legal permanent residents.


METHODS
Data came from the New Immigrant Survey 2003 cohort. We estimated the extent of positive and negative health selection through a unique series of questions asking immigrants in the United States to evaluate their health and compare it to that of citizens in their country of origin.


RESULTS
The extent of positive health selection differed significantly across immigrant groups and was related to compositional differences in the socioeconomic profiles of immigrant streams.


CONCLUSIONS
The salience of socioeconomic status and English-language ability in explaining health differentials across immigrant groups reinforces the importance of further research on the role of these factors in contributing to the health of immigrants above and beyond the need for additional attention to the health selection process.
Akresh
Ilana Redstone
IR
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA.
Frank
Reanne
R
D000069:Acculturation; D000328:Adult; D000349:Africa / Q000208:ethnology; D000465:Algorithms; D001208:Asia / Q000208:ethnology; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D001315:Australia / Q000208:ethnology; D002755:Choice Behavior; D015331:Cohort Studies; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005060:Europe / Q000208:ethnology; D005061:Europe, Eastern / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009520:New Zealand / Q000208:ethnology; D012649:Self Concept; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013020:South America / Q000208:ethnology; D014481:United States