Laboratory

Population Health

At a Glance Projects Publications Team

Project

Immigrant-Native Health Disparities Over the Life Course in the European Context

Silvia Loi, Mikko Myrskylä, Anna Oksuzyan, Peng Li, Pekka Martikainen (MPIDR / University of Helsinki, Finland)

Detailed Description

It is as important as ever in a world where migrant flows are at all-time highs to analyze health differences between migrants and natives, and between different types of migrant groups. The research literature on migrant health shows that patterns vary across countries and by ethnic groupings. The data analyzed suggest that migrants are positively selected in terms of health, but exposures to undocumented status, poverty, social exclusion, adverse life events and assimilation to negative health behaviors in the host countries likely lead to deterioration in health as immigrants age in the receiving countries. How does the health of immigrants differ from that of natives? How does the health gap between immigrants and natives change over age, over time, and across generations? These are core questions addressed in this project.

We focus on how assimilation, socioeconomic conditions, adverse life events, and structural factors, such as gender and education, influence these dynamics. We look at the European context, particularly focusing on Germany and the Nordic countries.

These are our key results: We have found evidence that migrants have better health than natives but that this advantage disappears over time and as immigrants age in the receiving countries. This is particularly evident for migrants from low-income countries, for those who have lower education, and for those who experience social exclusion and/or adverse events during the life course.

Publications

Loi, S.; Li, P.; Myrskylä, M.:

Immigrant-native health disparities: an intersectional perspective on the weathering hypothesis

MPIDR Working Paper WP-2023-005. (2023)    

Loi, S.; Li, P.; Myrskylä, M.:

At the intersection of adverse life course pathways: the effects on health by nativity

MPIDR Working Paper WP-2022-018. (2022)    

Väisänen, H.; Remes, H. M.; Martikainen, P.:

Perinatal health among migrant women: a longitudinal register study in Finland 2000-17

SSM-Population Health 20:101298, 1–11. (2022)    

Caputo, J.; Li, P.; Kühn, M.; Brønnum-Hansen, H.; Oksuzyan, A.:

Immigration background and the widowhood effect on mortality

Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 76:10, 2155–2168. (2021)    

Loi, S.; Pitkänen, J.; Moustgaard, H.; Myrskylä, M.; Martikainen, P.:

Health of immigrant children: the role of immigrant generation, exogamous family setting, and family material and social resources

Demography 58:5, 1655–1685. (2021)    

Östergren, O.; Korhonen, K.; Gustafsson, N.; Martikainen, P.:

Home and away: mortality among Finnish-born migrants in Sweden compared to native Swedes and Finns residing in Finland

European Journal of Public Health 31:2, 321–325. (2021)    

Eibich, P.; Liu, C.:

For better or for worse mental health? The role of social networks for exogamous older couples

MPIDR Working Paper WP-2020-012. (2020)    

Loi, S.; Vono de Vilhena, D.:

Exclusion through statistical invisibility. An exploration on what can be known through publicly available datasets on irregular migration and the health status of this population in Germany

MPIDR Working Paper WP-2020-009. (2020)    

Oksuzyan, A.; Drefahl, S.; Caputo, J.; Aradhya, S.:

Is it better to intermarry? Ethnic composition of marriages and suicide risk among native-born and migrant persons in Sweden

MPIDR Working Paper WP-2020-026. (2020)    

Hamilton, E. R.; Patler, C. C.; Hale, J. M.:

Growing up without status: the integration of children in mixed-status families

Sociology Compass 13:6, e12695–e12695. (2019)    

Loi, S.; Hale, J. M.:

Migrant health convergence and the role of material deprivation

Demographic Research 40:32, 933–962. (2019)    

Loi, S.; Pitkänen, J.; Moustgaard, H.; Myrskylä, M.; Martikainen, P.:

Health of immigrant children: the role of immigrant generation, exogamous family setting, and family material and social resources

MPIDR Working Paper WP-2019-009. (2019)    

Nguyen, E. T.; Hale, J. M.:

"You just don’t understand me!" Determinants of second generation Asian and Latino youth self-esteem

International Migration 55:5, 44–61. (2017)