Origin differences in self-reported health among older migrants living in France

Little is known about the health status of older migrants living in Europe. Using detailed data collected in 2003, this study investigated differences in health status by country of origin within the older immigrant population living in France using a self-rated health measure.

The database used in this research was the Passage à la Retraite des Immigrés survey, conducted from November 2002 to February 2003 on a sample of 6211 migrants aged 45-70 years and living in France at the time of the survey.

A difficulty with a self-rated outcome is that it may not be comparable between different origin groups, particularly because of cultural and linguistic differences. Therefore, generalized ordered Probit models were estimated, and an indicator of health, net of cross-cultural effects was constructed for each respondent.

This study found that male immigrants from southern Africa and Asia, and female immigrants from northern Europe, southern Africa and Asia are more likely to be in good health, while the health status is lower among immigrants from Eastern Europe living in France.

The diversity in health status within the immigrant population is large in France. These results are helpful in order to target the more disadvantaged origin groups and to adjust the provision of health care.