Volume 39 - Article 7 | Pages 209–250  

Disability crossover: Is there a Hispanic immigrant health advantage that reverses from working to old age?

By Mara Sheftel, Frank W. Heiland

Abstract

Background: Hispanic immigrants have been found to be more likely to have a disability than US-born populations. Studies have primarily focused on populations aged 60 and older; little is known about immigrant disability at younger ages.

Objective: Taking a broader perspective, we investigate whether Hispanic immigrants have lower disability rates in midlife; if so, at what ages this health advantage reverses; and the correlates of this pattern.

Methods: Using American Community Survey 2010–2014 data, we estimate age-specific disability prevalence rates by gender, nativity, education, and migration age from age 40 to 80. We also present estimates by six types of disability.

Results: Compared to non-Hispanic whites, disability prevalence among foreign-born Mexican women is lower until age 53 (men: 61) and greater after 59 (66). Similar patterns hold for other foreign-born Hispanics. Crossovers are observed in rates of ambulatory, cognitive, independent living, and self-care disability. Evidence of a steeper age–disability gradient among less-educated immigrants is found. Minimal differences are noted by migration age, challenging an acculturation explanation for the crossover.

Contribution: The paper contributes to a better understanding of immigrant–native disability patterns in the United States. It is the first to systematically document a Hispanic immigrant health advantage in disability that reverses from working to old age. Hispanic immigrants (particularly foreign-born Mexican women), may face steeper risk trajectories, consistent with their greater concentration in low-skill manual occupations. We call for increased scholarly attention to this phenomenon.

Author’s Affiliation

• Mara Sheftel - Pennsylvania State University, United States of America EMAIL
• Frank W. Heiland - City University of New York, United States of America EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

Family structure and wellbeing of out-of-wedlock children: The significance of the biological parents' relationship
Volume 15 - Article 4

Trends in East-West German Migration from 1989 to 2002
Volume 11 - Article 7

Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research

The partnership, fertility, and employment trajectories of immigrants in the United Kingdom: An intersectional life course approach using three-channel sequence analysis
Volume 53 - Article 10    | Keywords: employment, fertility, immigrants, multi-channel sequence analysis, partnership, United Kingdom

Where do we go from here? Partnership-parenthood trajectories of cohabitation as first union during young adulthood in the United States
Volume 53 - Article 9    | Keywords: cohabitation, family inequality, fertility, marriage, race/ethnicity, transition to adulthood, union formation, United States of America

The impact of population heterogeneity on the age trajectory of neonatal mortality: A study of US births 2008–2014
Volume 53 - Article 7    | Keywords: frailty, heterogeneity, heterogeneity, infant mortality, mortality, mortality selection, mortality selection, neonatal mortality, United States of America

Uncovering the underlying causes for the narrowing, stalling, and widening Black–White mortality gap from 2000 to 2022 in the United States
Volume 52 - Article 18    | Keywords: cause of death, decomposition, mortality trends, racial disparities, United States of America, years of life lost (YLL)

The changing inter-relationship between partnership dynamics and fertility trends in Europe and the United States: A review
Volume 52 - Article 7    | Keywords: childbearing, Europe, family complexity, fertility, fertility, marriage, partnership, United States of America