Table 3.
Prevalence of self-reported health status, health conditions, ADL, obese, currently smoking, and drinking, females (%)
| Mexican immigrants in the U.S. born in Mexico (Immigrants) | Return Mexican migrants in Mexico (Return migrants) | Mexicans without a history of migration to the U.S. (Non-migrants) | Non-Hispanic whites | Difference between non- Hispanic whites and immigrants | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50–59 years old
| |||||
| Self-reported health (%) | |||||
| Excellent or Very good or Good | 43.44 | 40.71 | 31.97 | 82.31 | 38.87*** |
| Fair or Poor | 56.56 | 59.29 | 68.03 | 17.69 | −38.87*** |
| Health Conditions (%) | |||||
| 0 | 36.11 | 35.44 | 31.09 | 39.86 | 3.75 |
| 1 | 36.33 | 41.77 | 37.68 | 36.73 | 0.40 |
| 2 or more | 27.56 | 22.79 | 31.23 | 23.41 | −4.15 |
| Diabetes (%) | 17.50 | 15.73 | 19.87 | 8.64 | −8.86* |
| Hypertension (%) | 40.12 | 56.13 | 49.81 | 31.83 | −8.29 |
| Lung diseases (%) | 1.12 | 7.38 | 8.37 | 6.17 | 5.05*** |
| Stroke (%) | 3.93 | 0.99 | 3.91 | 1.90 | −2.03 |
| Arthritis (%) | 36.32 | 11.84 | 26.87 | 41.72 | 5.40 |
| ADL (%) | |||||
| None | 79.87 | 98.55 | 94.51 | 90.59 | 10.72** |
| Difficulty with at least one | 20.13 | 1.45 | 5.49 | 9.41 | −10.72** |
| Obese (%) | 36.74 | 41.81 | 27.37 | 30.75 | −5.99 |
| Smoking (%) | 9.55 | 12.88 | 8.74 | 19.95 | 10.40*** |
| Heavy drinking (%) | 2.05 | 3.75 | 3.58 | 21.16 | 19.11*** |
| Number of observations (weighted) | 403,731 | 117,918 | 2,701,569 | 12,993,839 | |
| 60–69 years old
| |||||
| Self-reported health (%) | |||||
| Excellent or Very good or Good | 34.03 | 37.10 | 27.81 | 78.62 | 44.59*** |
| Fair or Poor | 65.97 | 62.90 | 72.19 | 21.38 | −44.59*** |
| Health Conditions (%) | |||||
| 0 | 28.56 | 17.94 | 24.54 | 19.59 | −8.97 |
| 1 | 21.31 | 41.17 | 36.39 | 36.70 | 15.39*** |
| 2 or more | 50.13 | 40.89 | 39.07 | 43.71 | −6.42 |
| Diabetes (%) | 34.78 | 23.01 | 21.81 | 13.81 | −20.97*** |
| Hypertension (%) | 50.09 | 51.57 | 57.38 | 47.80 | −2.29 |
| Lung diseases (%) | 1.82 | 12.33 | 10.50 | 10.86 | 9.04*** |
| Stroke (%) | 5.50 | 0.94 | 2.22 | 5.20 | −0.3 |
| Arthritis (%) | 56.80 | 50.58 | 34.75 | 64.35 | 5.50 |
| ADL (%) | |||||
| None | 71.65 | 95.80 | 90.78 | 86.54 | 14.89** |
| Difficulty with at least one | 28.35 | 4.20 | 9.22 | 13.46 | −14.89** |
| Obese (%) | 40.74 | 15.56 | 30.44 | 28.87 | −11.87** |
| Smoking (%) | 12.65 | 12.20 | 6.34 | 16.82 | 3.87 |
| Heavy drinking (%) | 1.30 | 5.93 | 2.35 | 13.69 | 12.39*** |
| Number of observations (weighted) | 225,758 | 102,150 | 2,473,672 | 9,561,104 | |
| 70 years old or above
| |||||
| Self-reported health (%) | |||||
| Excellent or Very good or Good | 21.40 | 25.80 | 23.14 | 69.83 | 48.43*** |
| Fair or Poor | 78.60 | 74.20 | 76.86 | 30.17 | −48.43*** |
| Health Conditions (%) | |||||
| 0 | 14.45 | 20.13 | 22.80 | 11.47 | −2.98 |
| 1 | 15.17 | 27.01 | 37.41 | 31.59 | 16.42*** |
| 2 or more | 70.38 | 52.85 | 39.79 | 56.94 | −13.84** |
| Diabetes (%) | 34.11 | 26.38 | 21.64 | 14.03 | −20.08*** |
| Hypertension (%) | 70.66 | 64.21 | 59.27 | 60.94 | −9.72 |
| Lung diseases (%) | 8.44 | 12.44 | 9.79 | 10.51 | 2.07 |
| Stroke (%) | 8.42 | 10.53 | 3.51 | 11.79 | 3.37 |
| Arthritis (%) | 70.40 | 40.15 | 39.74 | 71.77 | 1.37 |
| ADL (%) | |||||
| None | 58.57 | 79.56 | 74.95 | 77.44 | 18.87*** |
| Difficulty with at least one | 41.43 | 20.44 | 25.05 | 22.56 | −18.87*** |
| Obese (%) | 23.89 | 13.51 | 18.97 | 17.02 | −6.87 |
| Smoking (%) | 5.73 | 8.07 | 5.00 | 7.40 | 1.67 |
| Heavy drinking (%) | 0.00 | 4.28 | 2.34 | 7.56 | 7.56 |
| Number of observations (weighted) | 147,344 | 116,166 | 2,010,988 | 12,683,410 | |
Note: Estimates are weighted.
*
p<0.1,
**
p<.05,
***
p<0.01.
Source: Author’s calculation using the 2003 Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) and the 2004 Health and Retirement Study (HRS).