Summary
This study examines the extent to which physical and mental health differed by legal status and duration in the USA for the Latino population in Los Angeles County, California. Authors conducted analysis of 1,396 Latino respondents to the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A.FANS) Wave II. They examined self-reported health, depression measured by the Composite International Diagnostic Interview—Short Form, and blood pressure collected by trained interviewers. Regression models were used to test associations between each outcome and 1) legal status and 2) legal status by duration (≤ 15 and > 15 years) in the USA. Without taking duration into account, no significant differences were found in outcomes between undocumented, documented, or US-born Latinos.
Taking duration into account, shorter-duration undocumented immigrants had worse self-reported health than the US-born. Undocumented immigrants, regardless of duration, had higher blood pressure than documented immigrants who had been in the USA for less time and the same level of blood pressure as the US-born.
In contrast, shorter-duration documented immigrants had lower blood pressure compared to longer-duration documented immigrants and US-born counterparts, and marginally lower blood pressure than shorter-duration undocumented immigrants. The findings suggest that the "health advantage" generally presumed to exist among immigrants may not affect undocumented immigrants.
Publication Authors:
- Maria-Elena De Trinidad Young, PhD, MPH
- Anne R. Pebley