TY - JOUR
T1 - Neighborhood immigrant density and population health among native-born Americans
AU - Shi, Lu
AU - Zhang, Donglan
AU - Rajbhandari-Thapa, Janani
AU - Katapodis, Nicole
AU - Su, Dejun
AU - Li, Yan
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported, in part, by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R21ES019112) and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01HL141427). The authors would like to thank Drs. Jonathan E. Fielding, Jeroen van Meijgaard from University of California Los Angeles and Dr. Susie Baldwin from Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for their support. The authors would also like to thank the Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology at Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for their support. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Funding Information:
This study was supported, in part, by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences ( R21ES019112 ) and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute ( R01HL141427 ). The authors would like to thank Drs. Jonathan E. Fielding, Jeroen van Meijgaard from University of California Los Angeles and Dr. Susie Baldwin from Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for their support. The authors would also like to thank the Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology at Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for their support. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health .
PY - 2019/10
Y1 - 2019/10
N2 - The healthy immigrant effect—whereby immigrants are on average healthier than the native-born—have been well studied. However, little is known about the relationship between immigration and the health of the native-born. This study fills this important research gap by examining the association between neighborhood immigrant density and several population health measures among native-born Americans. We used data from the Los Angeles County Health Survey to analyze four individual-level health behaviors and outcomes, including regular fast food consumption, fruit and vegetable consumption, body mass index, and hypertension. We conducted multilevel logistic regressions to assess the association between neighborhood immigrant density and the four health behaviors and outcomes. The results showed that neighborhood immigrant density was negatively associated with regular fast food consumption (OR = 0.33; 95% CI, 0.18–0.59), BMI (β = −2.16, 95% CI, −3.13 to −1.19), and hypertension (OR = 0.58; 95% CI, 0.38–0.89), and positively associated with fruit/vegetable consumption (OR = 1.64; 95% CI, 1.01–2.66) among native-born Americans. In conclusion, native-born Americans who lived in a neighborhood with a high density of immigrants had healthier behaviors and better health outcomes compared to those who lived in a neighborhood with a low density of immigrants.
AB - The healthy immigrant effect—whereby immigrants are on average healthier than the native-born—have been well studied. However, little is known about the relationship between immigration and the health of the native-born. This study fills this important research gap by examining the association between neighborhood immigrant density and several population health measures among native-born Americans. We used data from the Los Angeles County Health Survey to analyze four individual-level health behaviors and outcomes, including regular fast food consumption, fruit and vegetable consumption, body mass index, and hypertension. We conducted multilevel logistic regressions to assess the association between neighborhood immigrant density and the four health behaviors and outcomes. The results showed that neighborhood immigrant density was negatively associated with regular fast food consumption (OR = 0.33; 95% CI, 0.18–0.59), BMI (β = −2.16, 95% CI, −3.13 to −1.19), and hypertension (OR = 0.58; 95% CI, 0.38–0.89), and positively associated with fruit/vegetable consumption (OR = 1.64; 95% CI, 1.01–2.66) among native-born Americans. In conclusion, native-born Americans who lived in a neighborhood with a high density of immigrants had healthier behaviors and better health outcomes compared to those who lived in a neighborhood with a low density of immigrants.
KW - Chronic disease
KW - Diet
KW - Immigrant health
KW - Neighborhood environment
KW - Urban health
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.105792
DO - 10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.105792
M3 - Article
C2 - 31398413
AN - SCOPUS:85070266308
VL - 127
JO - Preventive Medicine
JF - Preventive Medicine
SN - 0091-7435
M1 - 105792
ER -