[Older immigrants' health compared with that of native Swedes. Greatest differences are subjective in nature]

Within the framework of the gerontological and geriatric population studies in Gothenburg, Sweden, the health of immigrants of non-Nordic origin was compared with that of native Swedes in a cohort of 70-year-olds born in 1922. Of the sample examined, 11.4 per cent were of non-Nordic origin, among whom the non-response rate was relatively high (48%). Although there were few differences in "objective" health criteria between the Swedish and immigrant subgroups, there were manifest differences in "subjective" criteria and quality of life. In view of the increasing proportion of elderly immigrants in the Swedish community, these findings need to be borne in mind.