We examined indicators of health status and healthcare utilization according to immigration status to assess the 'healthy immigrant effect' for Chinese adults. Data for Chinese in Taiwan (n = 15,549) were from the 2001 Taiwan National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Data for U.S.-born Chinese (n = 964) and Chinese Immigrants in the U.S. (n = 253) were from the 1998-2004 U.S. NHIS. We used multivariate logistic regression to estimate the adjusted odds of perceived poor health, having ever smoked, and past year emergency room visits according to immigration status. For Chinese immigrants, more years in the U.S. were associated with lower odds of reporting poor health (OR = 0.4; 95% CI = 0.2-0.8) and past-year emergency room use (OR = 0.5; 95% CI = 0.3-0.9). Compared with recent Chinese immigrants (<5 years in U.S.), Chinese in Taiwan had higher odds of reporting poor health (OR = 6.2; 95% CI = 3.2-12.1) and having ever smoked (OR = 1.6; 95% CI = 1.1-2.5). Our results suggest that those who migrate have better health profiles than those who do not migrate. However, recent Chinese immigrants were not significantly different than U.S.-born Chinese. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Chinese Immigrant health Asian Healthy immigrant effects

China human middle aged health service ethnology Taiwan Cross-Sectional Studies interview United States Young Adult cross-sectional study Humans Adolescent Interviews as Topic male female health services Health Status Indicators Article adult migration Utilization Review Emigration and Immigration health survey