Does immigrant health advantage at older ages endure beyond the first generation?

Zoya Gubernskaya and Jungmin Shin

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2025, vol. 80, issue 9, gbaf117.

Abstract: ObjectivesGuided by the theories of immigrant health and incorporation, this research explores the patterns of health disparities by immigrant generation and race/ethnicity at older ages. Specifically, we compare the health status of first (foreign-born), second (U.S.-born with two foreign-born parents), 2.5 (U.S.-born with one foreign-born parent), and third-plus (U.S.-born with two U.S.-born parents) generation older immigrants in the USA by broad racial/ethnic categories.MethodsWe use data from the 2010–2021 Current Population Survey and employ logistic regressions to model the probability of having functional limitations and poor/fair self-rated health (SRH) among non-institutionalized adults aged 50 and over in the USA (N = 675,877).ResultsAll first-generation immigrants, regardless of race and ethnicity, and second-generation non-Hispanic White and Mexican older immigrants have a lower probability of having a functional limitation compared to their third-plus-generation counterparts of the same race/ethnicity. An immigrant health advantage is also present among 2.5-generation non-Hispanic White immigrants, but all racial and ethnic minority 2.5-generation older immigrants have similar or worse functional health than their third-plus-generation coethnic counterparts. The SRH disparities by immigrant generation vary significantly by race/ethnicity.DiscussionThe immigrant health advantage among second-generation older immigrants provides evidence that a health advantage could be transmitted intergenerationally and maintained over the life course. The racial/ethnic differences suggest that health-promoting influences of immigrant parents could be constrained by structural forces, racism, and discrimination.

Keywords: functional health status; health disparities; migration; minority aging (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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