Does immigrant health advantage at older ages endure beyond the first generation?

Guided by the theories of immigrant health and incorporation, this research explores the patterns of health disparities by immigrant generation and race/ethnicity at older ages. Specifically, we compare the health status of first (foreign-born), second (U.S.-born with two foreign-born parents), 2.5 (U.S.-born with one foreign-born parent), and third-plus (U.S.-born with two U.S.-born parents) generation older immigrants in the USA by broad racial/ethnic categories.

We use data from the 2010-2021 Current Population Survey and employ logistic regressions to model the probability of having functional limitations and poor/fair self-rated health (SRH) among non-institutionalized adults aged 50 and over in the USA (N = 675,877).

All first-generation immigrants, regardless of race and ethnicity, and second-generation non-Hispanic White and Mexican older immigrants have a lower probability of having a functional limitation compared to their third-plus-generation counterparts of the same race/ethnicity. An immigrant health advantage is also present among 2.5-generation non-Hispanic White immigrants, but all racial and ethnic minority 2.5-generation older immigrants have similar or worse functional health than their third-plus-generation coethnic counterparts. The SRH disparities by immigrant generation vary significantly by race/ethnicity.

The immigrant health advantage among second-generation older immigrants provides evidence that a health advantage could be transmitted intergenerationally and maintained over the life course. The racial/ethnic differences suggest that health-promoting influences of immigrant parents could be constrained by structural forces, racism, and discrimination.