Explaining low mortality among US immigrants relative to native-born Americans: the role of smoking.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In many developed countries, immigrants live longer-that is, have lower death rates at most or all ages-than native-born residents. This article tests whether different levels of smoking-related mortality can explain part of the 'healthy immigrant effect' in the USA, as well as part of the related 'Hispanic paradox': the tendency for US Hispanics to outlive non-Hispanic Whites.

Methods

With data from vital statistics and the national census, we calculate lung cancer death rates in 2000 for four US subpopulations: foreign-born, native-born, Hispanic and non-Hispanic White. We then use three different methods-the Peto-Lopez method, the Preston-Glei-Wilmoth method and a novel method developed in this article-to generate three alternative estimates of smoking-related

SUBMITTER: Blue L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3147070 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature