title: Health status and behavioral risk factors in older adult Mexicans and Mexican immigrants to the United States.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Investigate the "salmon-bias" hypothesis, which posits that Mexicans in the U.S. return to Mexico due to poor health, as an explanation for the Hispanic health paradox in which Hispanics in the United States are healthier than might be expected from their socioeconomic status.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sample includes Mexicans age 50 years or above living in the United States and Mexico from the 2003 Mexican Health and Aging Study and the 2004 Health and Retirement Study. Logistic regressions examine whether nonmigrants or return migrants have different odds than immigrants of reporting a health outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The salmon-bias hypothesis holds for select health outcomes. However, nonmigrants and return migrants have better health outcomes than immigrants on a variety of indicators.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, the results of this study do not support the salmon-bias hypothesis; other explanations for the paradox could be explored.
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA 90407, USA. eaguila@rand.org
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aguila
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Escarce
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leng
authors.forename: Leo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Morales
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012923:Social Class; D014481:United States