ArticleSocial science research2015
The healthy immigrant (migrant) effect: In search of a better native-born comparison group.
Article in Social science research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Using Qualitative Research to Explore Maternal and Child Health Experiences Among Brazilian Immigrants in the U.S.: A Systematic Review and Meta-Synthesis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- Understanding the Healthy Immigrant Effect in the Context of Mental Health Challenges: A Systematic Critical Review.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2022Pooled it
- Impact of adverse childhood experiences, positive childhood experiences and adult protective and risk factors on health in a statewide representative sample.Family medicine and community health · 2026Observational
- Epidemiological pattern of death and causes of death in registered immigrants of Northeast Iran during the 2013-2023: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- The Health of First Generation Caribbeans Across the Diaspora: Findings from 2000-2005 Population Data Surveys from Guyana, Jamaica, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2025Article
- Internal migration, health selection, and the salmon bias: A register-based study of Finland.Social science & medicine (1982) · 2025Article
- The public health consequences of mandatory return migration: a call for action.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Food Related Challenges and Mental Health Among U.S. African Migrants: A Narrative Review.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2024Review
- Diabetes Among Racial and Ethnically Diverse Older Adults in the United States with Cognitive Limitations.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2024Article
- Article
- Challenges for the prevention of hypertension among international migrants in Latin America: prioritizing the health of migrants in healthcare systems.Frontiers in public health · 2023Review
- Acculturative Stress, Perceived Social Support, and Mental Health: The Mediating Effect of Negative Emotions Associated with Discrimination.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- The Health Experiences of Young Internal Migrants in Ghana-Identifying Priorities for Sustainable Health Promotion.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Psychosocial and behavioral health indicators among immigrant and non-immigrant recent mothers.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Article
- A comparative analysis of health status of international migrants and local population in Chile: a population-based, cross-sectional analysis from a social determinants of health perspective.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Risk of Stillbirth Among Foreign-Born Mothers in the United States.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2022Article
- Cancer Mortality in U.S.-Born versus Foreign-Born Asian American Groups (2008-2017).Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2022Article
- Article
- National origins, social context, timing of migration and the physical and mental health of Caribbeans living in and outside of Canada.Ethnicity & health · 2022Article
- Impact of Maternal Age on the Foreign-Born Paradox.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
This paper evaluates whether immigrants' initial health advantage over their U.S.-born counterparts results primarily from characteristics correlated with their birth countries (e.g., immigrant culture) or from selective migration (e.g., unobserved characteristics such as motivation and ambition) by comparing recent immigrants' health to that of recent U.S.-born interstate migrants ("U.S.-born movers"). Using data from the 1999-2013 waves of the March Current Population Survey, I find that, relative to U.S.-born adults (collectively), recent immigrants have a 6.1 percentage point lower probability of reporting their health as fair or poor. Changing the reference group to U.S.-born movers, however, reduces the recent immigrant health advantage by 28%. Similar reductions in the immigrant health advantage occurs in models estimated separately by either race/ethnicity or education level. Models that examine health differences between recent immigrants and U.S.-born movers who both moved for a new job-a primary motivation behind moving for both immigrants and the U.S.-born-show that such immigrants have only a 1.9 percentage point lower probability of reporting their health as fair or poor. Together, the findings suggest that changing the reference group from U.S.-born adults collectively to U.S.-born movers reduces the identified immigrant health advantage, indicating that selective migration plays a significant role in explaining the initial health advantage of immigrants in the United States.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.