Archives of General Psychiatry
Volume 68, Issue 4, 2011, Pages 428-433

Migration from Mexico to the United States and subsequent risk for depressive and anxiety disorders: A cross-national study (Article) (Open Access)

Breslau J.* , Borges G. , Tancredi D. , Saito N. , Kravitz R. , Hinton L. , Vega W. , Medina-Mora M.E. , Aguilar-Gaxiola S.
  • a Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Ticon I, 2000 Stockton Blvd, Ste 210, Sacramento, CA 95817, United States
  • b National Institute of Psychiatry, Mexico City, Mexico
  • c Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, United States
  • d Center for Health Policy and Research, University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, United States
  • e Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Ticon I, 2000 Stockton Blvd, Ste 210, Sacramento, CA 95817, United States
  • f Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, United States
  • g School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
  • h National Institute of Psychiatry, Mexico City, Mexico
  • i Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Ticon I, 2000 Stockton Blvd, Ste 210, Sacramento, CA 95817, United States

Abstract

Context: Migration is suspected to increase risk for depressive and anxiety disorders. Objective: To test the hypothesized increase in risk for depressive and anxiety disorders after arrival in the United States among Mexican migrants. Design:Wecombined data from surveys conducted separately in Mexico and the United States that used the same diagnostic interview. Discrete time survival models were specified to estimate the relative odds of first onset of depressive disorders (major depressive episode and dysthymia) and anxiety disorders (generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, panic disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder) among migrants after their arrival in the United States compared with nonmigrant Mexicans who have a migrant in their immediate family. Setting: Population surveys in the United States and Mexico. Participants: Two thousand five hundred nineteen nonmigrant family members of migrants in Mexico and 554 Mexican migrants in the United States. Main Outcome Measures: First onset of any depressive or anxiety disorder. Results: After arrival in the United States, migrants had a significantly higher risk for first onset of any depressive or anxiety disorder than did nonmigrant family members of migrants in Mexico (odds ratio, 1.42; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.94). Associations between migration and disorder varied across birth cohorts. Elevated risk among migrants relative to nonmigrants was restricted to the 2 younger cohorts (those aged 18-25 or 26-35 years at interview). In the most recent birth cohort, the association between migration and first onset of any depressive or anxiety disorder was particularly strong (odds ratio, 3.89; 95% confidence interval, 2.74-5.53). Conclusions: This is, to our knowledge, the first study to compare risk for first onset of psychiatric disorder betweenrepresentativesamplesof migrants in the United States and nonmigrants in Mexico. The findings are consistent with the hypothesized adverse effect of migration from Mexico to the United States on the mental health of migrants, but only among migrants in recent birth cohorts. ©2011 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

depression anxiety disorder human middle aged Odds Ratio Depressive Disorder Anxiety Disorders Mexico social phobia panic interview United States Humans Adolescent male female risk factor Article major clinical study adult migration posttraumatic stress disorder Age Factors generalized anxiety disorder Emigration and Immigration Transients and Migrants major depression disease association health survey
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-79953757097&doi=10.1001%2farchgenpsychiatry.2011.21&partnerID=40&md5=61739d06d8cec7689ff9e9205f61f988
DOI: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.21
ISSN: 0003990X
Cited by: 54
Original Language: English