Shorter stay, longer life: age at migration and mortality among the older Mexican-origin population

In this article, we investigate the association between age at migration and mortality during a 13-year period in a sample of Mexican American immigrants 65 and older at baseline.

We employ the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-PESE) to control for mortality-related health and social factors.

Our analyses show that the immigrant generation does not represent a homogeneous mortality risk category. Individuals who migrated to the United States in mature adulthood have a considerably lower risk of death than individuals who migrated in childhood or midlife. Chronic conditions or functional capacity do not account for these differences.

Our findings suggest that standard risk pools may differ significantly on the basis of genetic and unmeasured life-course factors. A better understanding of the late-life immigrant mortality advantage has important implications for more effective and targeted social and medical interventions.