Although U.S. residents born in other countries have a lower death rate from all causes than native-born residents, women who moved here from other countries actually have a higher risk of dying from heart disease and stroke, according to a new study.
The study’s results, published in the January issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, are consistent with previous research showing that people who move to the United States are generally healthier than those born here.
But among foreign-born women, there were 162 deaths per 100,000 due to congestive heart disease compared with 122 per 100,000 among U.S.-born women. For stroke, the death rate was 58 per 100,000 foreign-born women compared with 49 per 100,000 native-born.
Deaths from hypertension and hypertensive heart disease were also higher among foreign-born compared with native-born women, suggesting that higher rates of hypertension may be in part responsible for the higher rates of heart disease deaths, says the study’s senior author Peter Alexander Muennig, M.D., M.P.H., of the New School University in New York.
Death rates from other causes, such as cancer and diabetes, were lower among the foreign-born U.S. residents, men and women, than native-born residents, the researchers found.
They suggest that foreign-born women may have higher rates of heart disease due to factors such as lower rates of hormone replacement therapy use.
Alternatively, the finding could be due to a shift in the demographic mix of new U.S. immigrants. For example, people from India and Pakistan have accounted for a larger proportion of new U.S. residents in the late 1990s compared with the early 1990s. These immigrants generally have more fat in their diet than immigrants from countries such as China and Korea.
The study data was based on all recorded deaths during 1997, a database maintained by the National Center for Health Statistics. The database contains information on country of origin but not citizenship. Population data was based on the Current Population Survey by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and comprised 26 million foreign-born U.S. residents and 243 million U.S.-born residents.
“The time has come to include the newest Americans in the public health agenda so that their health needs can be better understood and better met,” says senior author, Peter Alexander Muennig, M.D., M.P.H.
Funding for the study was provided by the New School University’s Milano Graduate School.
The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, sponsored by the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine and the American College of Preventive Medicine, is published eight times a year by Elsevier Science. The Journal is a forum for the communication of information, knowledge and wisdom in prevention science, education, practice and policy. For more information about the Journal, contact the editorial office at 619-594-7344.
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