Household density among undocumented Mexican immigrants in New York City.
BACKGROUND
High household density increases exposure to communicable diseases, psychological distress in adults, and poor long-term health in children. High residential density, which may be a mediator of poor health, is common among immigrants.


METHODS
We used data from a pilot survey among Mexican immigrants in New York City. Respondents were recruited through venue-based sampling in neighborhoods with large Mexican populations.


RESULTS
Among respondents that reported being undocumented (N = 404), the mean number of people per room (PPR) of residence was 2.2. In multivariate analyses, living in conditions of >2 PPR was positively associated with living with one's children (OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.4-3.9), having experienced food insecurity in the past 6 months (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.1-3.6), and language discrimination (OR = 2.3 compared to other forms of discrimination, 95% CI = 1.2-4.4).


CONCLUSIONS
Undocumented Mexican immigrants, particularly those who are linguistically marginalized and experience food insufficiency, live in conditions of marked household density in NYC.
Standish
Katherine
K
Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10029, USA. kstandish@nyam.org
Nandi
Vijay
V
Ompad
Danielle C
DC
Momper
Sandra
S
Galea
Sandro
S
D000069:Acculturation; D000328:Adult; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006798:Housing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009519:New York City; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011156:Population Density; D015995:Prevalence; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult