ArticleBMJ open2019
Healthy migrant effect in the Swedish context: a register-based, longitudinal cohort study.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 90 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
90 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 149 citations in OpenAlex.
- Facilitators and barriers of maternal and infant healthcare access for undocumented migrants in the first 1000 days of life: a systematic review of the literature.Sexual and reproductive health matters · 2025Pooled it
- HIV and tuberculosis co-infection in non-European migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC infectious diseases · 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
- Perinatal and Neonatal Outcomes in Immigrants From Conflict-Zone Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Risk of Stillbirth, Perinatal and Neonatal Mortality in Immigrant Women.International journal of public health · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Care Received by Migrant Women Who Died During or After Pregnancy: A National Confidential Case Note Review.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2026Article
- Risk factors for sepsis mortality: A national Swedish cohort study (1998-2018).Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2026Article
- Economic, cultural and social inequalities in potentially inappropriate medication-An Austrian perspective.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2026Article
- Prevalence of chronic viral hepatitis B, D among Mongol migrants in Sweden compared to a sex- and age-matched native Mongol cohort.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Health care use as an aspect of immigrant integration? An analysis of health care cost convergence among new immigrants and natives in Finland.Journal of migration and health · 2026Article
- Health shocks and earnings trajectories: A comparative study of migrants and natives in Finland.Journal of migration and health · 2026Article
- Health in Swedish integration policies - a discourse analysis.International journal of circumpolar health · 2025Article
- The collection and integration of data on migrants in health information systems: evidence from Ireland.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- Uncovering sociodemographic disparities in temporal trends of osteoarthritis incidence and age-at-diagnosis, 2006-2019.Scandinavian journal of public health · 2025Article
- Low Income Has a Negative Effect on Survival Following Diagnosis of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer-A Population-Based Cohort Study.Cancer medicine · 2025Article
- Inequalities in somatic comorbidities among immigrants and Norwegians with and without common mental disorders: a national register study.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Article
- Prodromal phase of multiple sclerosis: evidence from sickness absence patterns before disease onset - a matched cohort study.Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 2025Article
- A Nature-Based Vocational Training Programme for Migrants and Swedes: Impacts on the Five Ways to Wellbeing.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Associations of migrant and refugee status with physical comorbidity and mortality among young adults with incident non-affective psychotic disorders.BMC public health · 2025Observational
30 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesStudies have found a 'healthy-migrant effect' (HME) among arriving migrants, that is, a better health status compared with others in the home country, but also in comparison with the population in the host country. The aims were to investigate whether the HME hypothesis is applicable to the Swedish context, that is, if health outcomes differed between a group of mainly labour migrants (Western migrants) and a group of mainly refugee/family reunion migrants (non-Western migrants) compared with the native Swedish population, and if there were any correlations between labour market attachment (LMA) and these health outcomes.
designRegister-based, longitudinal cohort study.
participantsThe cohort was defined on 31 December 1990 and consisted of all migrants aged 18-47 years who arrived in Sweden in 1985-1990 (n=74 954) and a reference population of native Swedes (n=1 405 047) in the same age span. They were followed for three consecutive 6-year periods (1991-1996, 1997-2002 and 2003-2008) and were assessed for five measures of health: hospitalisation for cardiovascular and psychiatric disorders, mortality, disability pension, and sick leave.
resultsWestern migrants had, compared with native Swedes, lower or equal HRs for all health measures during all time periods, while non-Western migrants displayed higher or equal HRs for all health measures, except for mortality, during all time periods. Age, educational level, occupation and LMA explained part of the difference between migrants and native Swedes. High LMA was associated with higher HRs for cardiovascular disorders among Western migrants, higher HRs of psychiatric disorders among non-Western migrants and higher HRs of mortality among both migrant groups compared with native Swedes.
conclusionsThere were indications of a HME among Western migrants, while less proof of a HME among non-Western migrants. Stratification for LMA and different migrant categories showed some interesting differences, and measurements of the HME may be inconclusive if not stratified by migrant category or other relevant variables.
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