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Mortality among immigrants in England and Wales by major causes of death, 1971–2012: A longitudinal analysis of register-based data

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  • Wallace, Matthew
  • Kulu, Hill

Abstract

Recent research has found a migrant mortality advantage among immigrants relative to the UK-born population living in England and Wales. However, while all-cause mortality is useful to show differences in mortality between immigrants and the host population, it can mask variation in mortality patterns from specific causes of death. This study analyses differences in the causes of death among immigrants living in England and Wales. We extend previous research by applying competing-risks survival analysis to study a large-scale longitudinal dataset from 1971 to 2012 to directly compare causes of death. We confirm low all-cause mortality among nearly all immigrants, except immigrants from Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (who have high mortality). In most cases, low all-cause mortality among immigrants is driven by lower mortality from chronic diseases (in nearly all cases by lower cancer mortality and in some cases by lower mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVD)). This low all-cause mortality often coexists with low respiratory disease mortality and among non-western immigrants, coexists with high mortality from infectious diseases; however, these two causes of death contribute little to mortality among immigrants. For men, CVD is the leading cause of death (particularly among South Asians). For women, cancer is the leading cause of death (except among South Asians, for whom CVD is also the leading cause). Differences in CVD mortality over time remain constant between immigrants relative to UK-born, but immigrant cancer patterns shows signs of some convergence to the cancer mortality among the UK-born (though cancer mortality is still low among immigrants by age 80). The study provides the most up-to-date, reliable UK-based analysis of immigrant mortality.

Suggested Citation

  • Wallace, Matthew & Kulu, Hill, 2015. "Mortality among immigrants in England and Wales by major causes of death, 1971–2012: A longitudinal analysis of register-based data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 209-221.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:147:y:2015:i:c:p:209-221
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.10.060
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wallace, Matthew & Kulu, Hill, 2014. "Low immigrant mortality in England and Wales: A data artefact?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 100-109.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Mathieu Ichou & Matthew Wallace, 2019. "The Healthy Immigrant Effect: The role of educational selectivity in the good health of migrants," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(4), pages 61-94.
    3. Van Hemelrijck, Wanda M.J. & Rosskamp, Michael & De Schutter, Harlinde & Verdoodt, Freija & Vanthomme, Katrien, 2021. "Cancer risk among individuals of migrant origin in Belgium during the 2000s – Evidence of migration as a ‘cancer risk transition’?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    4. Matthew Wallace, 2022. "Mortality Advantage Reversed: The Causes of Death Driving All-Cause Mortality Differentials Between Immigrants, the Descendants of Immigrants and Ancestral Natives in Sweden, 1997–2016," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(5), pages 1213-1241, December.

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