Do Immigrants Experience Morbidity and Disability Disadvantages at Older Ages? A Research Note

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Sociology of Health and Illness

Background:

• Prior research indicates Hispanic and Black immigrants experience greater late-life disability than U.S.-born Whites, despite early-life health advantages.
• Existing studies often use the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), which may overrepresent long-term immigrants and lack data on other ethnoracial groups.
• Generalizability of observed health declines among immigrant populations remains unclear due to data limitations and underrepresentation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare chronic disease and disability prevalence between U.S.-born Whites and immigrants of diverse ethnoracial backgrounds.
• To investigate discrepancies in health disadvantage findings between the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).
• To identify dataset-specific factors influencing the health outcomes of immigrant populations.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of up-to-date Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data.
• Examination of prevalences of chronic diseases, functional limitations, and activity limitations.
• Assessment of ethnoracial identities, immigration status, and socioeconomic factors.

Main Results:

• Hispanic and Black immigrants in the HRS showed significantly higher disability disadvantages compared to native-born Whites than those in the NHIS.
• Older White and Asian immigrants did not exhibit health disadvantages across either dataset.
• Lower socioeconomic status among Hispanic immigrants in the HRS and differing activity limitation measures contributed to survey discrepancies.

Conclusions:

• The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) design may underrepresent recent immigrants, leading to unique socioeconomic profiles and potentially inflated disability estimates.
• Discrepancies between HRS and NHIS highlight the importance of dataset-specific nuances in immigration and health research.
• Scholars must exercise caution when interpreting findings related to immigrant health, considering potential dataset biases.