The health declines with longer duration of residence? Evidence from an Australian longitudinal study

A number of highly cited studies have demonstrated the health advantage of Foreign-Born (FB) compared to the Native-Born (NB) population and a decline in health advantage the longer they stay in the host countries. However,... [ view full abstract ]

A number of highly cited studies have demonstrated the health advantage of Foreign-Born (FB) compared to the Native-Born (NB) population and a decline in health advantage the longer they stay in the host countries. However, most of the evidence from the existing literature is limited by the use of cross-sectional study design, use of single indicator of health and poor control of time varying confounders. Additionally, little attention has been paid to the mechanisms by which transition of health over time occur, limiting the ability to implement policies that will result in improved health for all, including immigrants.
This study extends the previous research by investigating changes in three health measures (self-assessed health, mental health and physical health) among FB people from English speaking countries and non-English speaking countries relative to NB Australians over time using multiple rounds of a nationally representative longitudinal dataset- Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. We also explore English language proficiency, and socioeconomic and health behavior factors as possible mechanisms through which health outcomes change over time post migration. We used Conventional multilevel mixed and hybrid regression models to evaluate health outcomes in 9,558 NB and 3,067 FB people.
Foreign-born people from ES countries typically had a health advantage relative to NB people, and FB people from NES countries had a health disadvantage with respect to NB people for all health outcomes. There was no evidence that these differences changed by duration of residence except for self-assessed health amongst FB people from NES countries where the disadvantage was not measureable until duration of residence exceeded 20 years. English language proficiency mediated the relationship between duration of residence and health for FB people from NES countries.