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Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail Volume 3 | Issue 1
Article 4
February 2015
The Healthy Immigrant Effect in Canada: A Systematic Review Zoua Vang McGill University,
[email protected]
Jennifer Sigouin McGill University,
[email protected]
Astrid Flenon Université de Montréal,
[email protected]
Alain Gagnon Université de Montréal,
[email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/pclc Part of the Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, and the Medicine and Health Commons Recommended Citation Vang, Zoua; Sigouin, Jennifer; Flenon, Astrid; and Gagnon, Alain (2015) "The Healthy Immigrant Effect in Canada: A Systematic Review," Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail: Vol. 3: Iss. 1, Article 4. Available at: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/pclc/vol3/iss1/4
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THE HEALTHY IMMIGRANT EFFECT IN CANADA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Zoua M. Vanga,b,* Jennifer Sigouina Astrid Flenonc Alain Gagnonc, d
a
Department of Sociology, McGill University
b
Centre on Population Dynamics, McGill University
c
Département de démographie, Université de Montréal
d
Institut de recherches en santé publique de l’Université de Montréal
* Direct correspondences to: Zoua M. Vang, Department of Sociology, 713 Leacock Building, 855 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T7. Email:
[email protected], tel: (514)-398-6854.
KEY MESSAGES Research indicates that foreign-born status confers a health advantage (a phenomenon known as the “healthy immigrant effect”). In this report, we systematically reviewed the literature on the healthy immigrant effect by grounding studies of migration and health in Canada within particular life-course stages. The key issues and findings identified from our review are:
The healthy immigrant effect is not a systemic phenomenon in Canada and is linked to immigrants’ duration of residence in the country. Immigrants’ health advantage varies across the life-course, and within each stage of the lifecourse, by different health outcomes. The healthy immigrant effect appears to be strongest during adulthood but less so during childhood/adolescence and late life. A foreign-born health advantage is robust for mortality but less so for morbidity, with immigrants in Canada exhibiting a survival advantage over their Canadian-born counterparts. The healthy immigrant effect is quite variable for perinatal health. To the extent that there is a foreign-born health advantage for birth outcomes, it is only seen for preterm birth, and this advantage vanishes after the first decade of immigrants’ residence in Canada. Immigrant women have worse maternal health than Canadian-born women. Mental health among immigrant mothers is especially poor. Adult immigrants tend to fare better than their Canadian-born counterparts with regards to mental health, chronic conditions, disability/functional limitations, and risk behaviors. The results for self-rated health are more heterogeneous and vary depending on immigrants’ country/region of origin and duration in Canada. Immigrant seniors do not significantly differ from Canadian-born seniors in terms of their risks for chronic conditions or poor mental health. However, they tend to have worse self-rated health and more disability/functional limitations than Canadian-born seniors. Maternal and infant health is quite poor among refugees. But their risks of all-site cancer and mortality are significantly lower than the Canadian-born population. The healthy immigrant effect is stronger for recent (
