U.S.
Hazardous to Health of Mexican Entrants
LOS
ANGELES (Reuters) October 16, 2007 —
Coming to the
United States can be bad for your health if you are a Mexican immigrant,
according to a study released Thursday.
The joint Mexican-U.S. report found that most
Mexican immigrants arrive in the United States in better health than the
white American population, but their health deteriorates the longer they
stay, due partly to lack of insurance and the change in lifestyle.
"It is unknown … if worsening health status is
a result of years of difficult labor and poverty, changing health behaviors
like diet and smoking, or insufficient preventive medical care," the report
said.
Contrary to the widespread belief that
immigrants place an undue burden on U.S. hospital emergency rooms, the study
found that only 10 percent of recent immigrants from Mexico use emergency
rooms, compared with 20 percent of U.S.-born whites.
The study, carried out by the University of
California and the Mexican government's National Population Council, is
aimed at improving the health of migrants living in the United States.
4 percent of U.S. population
Mexico is the largest contemporary
source of immigration to the United States. Mexicans — many of them illegal
— make up almost 4 percent of the total U.S. population.
Researchers found that 6.8 percent of recent
adult Mexican immigrants assessed their own health as fair or poor, compared
with 10.6 percent of U.S.-born whites, and just 2.6 percent have diabetes.
After 15 years in the United States, 15 percent of Mexicans said their
health was fair or poor and 7.7 percent had been diagnosed with diabetes.
More than half of the 10.2 million Mexican
immigrants living in the United States do not have health insurance, and
lack of documents due to an uncertain legal status means they often are
ineligible for public health coverage.
In their homeland, most formally employed
Mexicans have basic public health coverage, but millions in the countryside
or in informal jobs are not covered.
Elena Zuniga, one of the authors of the report
who works for Mexico's National Population Council, said that good health
among immigrant workers had benefits for both Mexico and the United States.
"Without good health, Mexican immigrants
cannot work in the physically demanding occupations where many are
concentrated, such as agriculture and construction," she said.
