Immigrant disadvantage or the healthy immigrant effect? Evidence about low birth weight differences in the Czech Republic

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F49777513%3A23330%2F16%3A43930151" target="_blank" >RIV/49777513:23330/16:43930151 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/content/26/4/662" target="_blank" >http://eurpub.oxfordjournals.org/content/26/4/662</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckw029" target="_blank" >10.1093/eurpub/ckw029</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Immigrant disadvantage or the healthy immigrant effect? Evidence about low birth weight differences in the Czech Republic

Original language description

BACKGROUND: Most of the research about immigrants' birth outcomes comes from countries with high numbers of immigrants. This article provides evidence from the Czech Republic, a country with a short immigration history and a small immigrant population. Two hypotheses are tested: the immigrant disadvantage hypothesis and the healthy immigrant hypothesis. METHODS: Live singleton births in 2013-14 from the national birth register are analysed. The odds of low birth weight (LBW) among the native population and five immigrant groups are compared using logistic regression. Control variables include maternal age, parity, education and marital status, paternal immigrant status, age and education. RESULTS: All immigrant groups, except for Slovaks, showed smaller odds of LBW than native mothers. Adjusted odds ratios for non-Slovak immigrants range between 0.52 and 0.65. Furthermore, maternal immigrant status interacts with education. There is a wide educational gradient in LBW among Czech and Slovak mothers with low education representing a large disadvantage. Such pattern is not present among other ethnic groups. This makes the outcomes of Czech and Slovak mothers less favourable. Native mothers and immigrants with higher level of education show more similar outcomes. Paternal immigrant status does not have a net effect on LBW when maternal ethnicity is taken into account. CONCLUSIONS: Results provide evidence for the healthy immigrant effect. The favourable outcomes of non-Slovak immigrants seem to result from a combination of two factors, health selection of immigrants and relatively high prevalence of LBW in the native population caused by adverse outcomes of mothers with low education.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_x - Unclassified - Peer-reviewed scientific article (Jimp, Jsc and Jost)

CEP classification

AO - Sociology, demography

OECD FORD branch

—

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2016

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

ISSN

1101-1262

e-ISSN

—

Volume of the periodical

26

Issue of the periodical within the volume

4

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

5

Pages from-to

662-666

UT code for WoS article

000383233800027

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-84984680047