Family practice
Volume 34, Issue 6, 2017, Pages 662-666

Multimorbidity and immigrant status: associations with area of origin and length of residence in host country (Article) (Open Access)

Gimeno-Feliu L.A. , Calderón-Larrañaga A. , Díaz E. , Laguna-Berna C. , Poblador-Plou B. , Coscollar C. , Prados-Torres A.
  • a San Pablo Health Centre, Aragón Health ServiceZaragoza, Spain, EpiChron Research Group on Chronic Diseases, Aragón Health Sciences Institute (IACS), IIS Aragón, Miguel Servet University HospitalZaragoza, Spain, Health Services Research on Chronic Patients Network (REDISSEC), Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain, Department of Medicine, Psychiatry and Dermatology, University of ZaragozaZaragoza, Spain
  • b EpiChron Research Group on Chronic Diseases, Aragón Health Sciences Institute (IACS), IIS Aragón, Miguel Servet University HospitalZaragoza, Spain, Health Services Research on Chronic Patients Network (REDISSEC), Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain, Aging Research Center, NVS Department Karolinska, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
  • c Research Group for General Practice, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Bergen, Norway, Norwegian Centre for Minority Health ResearchOslo, Norway
  • d EpiChron Research Group on Chronic Diseases, Aragón Health Sciences Institute (IACS), IIS Aragón, Miguel Servet University HospitalZaragoza, Spain, Health Services Research on Chronic Patients Network (REDISSEC), Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain
  • e EpiChron Research Group on Chronic Diseases, Aragón Health Sciences Institute (IACS), IIS Aragón, Miguel Servet University HospitalZaragoza, Spain, Health Services Research on Chronic Patients Network (REDISSEC), Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain
  • f San Pablo Health Centre, Aragón Health ServiceZaragoza, Spain, EpiChron Research Group on Chronic Diseases, Aragón Health Sciences Institute (IACS), IIS Aragón, Miguel Servet University HospitalZaragoza, Spain, Health Services Research on Chronic Patients Network (REDISSEC), Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain, Department of Medicine, Psychiatry and Dermatology, University of ZaragozaZaragoza, Spain
  • g EpiChron Research Group on Chronic Diseases, Aragón Health Sciences Institute (IACS), IIS Aragón, Miguel Servet University HospitalZaragoza, Spain, Health Services Research on Chronic Patients Network (REDISSEC), Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain, Department of Microbiology, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of ZaragozaZaragoza, Spain

Abstract

Aim: Multimorbidity is a growing phenomenon in primary care, and knowledge of the influence of social determinants on its evolution is vital. The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between multimorbidity and immigration, taking into account length of residence in the host country and area of origin of the immigrant population.Methods: Cross-sectional retrospective study of all adult patients registered within the public health service of Aragon, Spain (N = 1092279; 144238 were foreign-born), based on data from the EpiChron Cohort. Age-standardized prevalence rates of multimorbidity were calculated. Different models of binary logistic regressions were conducted to study the association between multimorbidity, immigrant status and length of residence in the host country.Results: The risk of multimorbidity in foreign-borns was lower than that of native-borns [odds ratio (OR): 0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.53-0.55]. The probability of experiencing multimorbidity was lowest for Asians (OR: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.31-0.37) and Eastern Europeans (OR: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.40-0.43), and highest for Latin Americans (OR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.68-0.72). Foreign-born immigrants residing in Aragon for ≥5 years had a higher multimorbidity risk than those residing for <5 years (OR: 2.3, 95% CI: 2.2-2.4).Conclusion: Prevalence of multimorbidity is lower among foreign-borns as compared with native-borns, but increases rapidly with length of residence in the host country. However, the progressive development of multimorbidity among immigrants varies widely depending on area of origin. These findings provide important insight into the health care needs of specific population groups and may help minimize the negative impact of multimorbidity among the most vulnerable groups. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].

Author Keywords

Primary care Chronic disease Multimorbidity Health status Spain Emigration and immigration

Index Keywords

South and Central America Europe, Eastern Latin America human trends middle aged statistics and numerical data time factor Time Factors General Practitioners general practitioner multiple chronic conditions Multimorbidity Eastern Europe ethnology Cross-Sectional Studies cross-sectional study migrant Humans male Emigrants and Immigrants Spain female Africa prevalence Retrospective Studies adult retrospective study primary health care
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85050638684&doi=10.1093%2ffampra%2fcmx048&partnerID=40&md5=a4f202f2845fdce9dd0a13f54f14fc43
DOI: 10.1093/fampra/cmx048
ISSN: 14602229
Cited by: 1
Original Language: English