A Longitudinal Perspective to Migrant Health: Unpacking the Immigrant Health Paradox in Germany

Alessandro Ferrara, WZB
Claudia Brunori, Centre D'Estudis Demogràfics, UAB
Carla Grindel , Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Previous research on the Immigrant Health Paradox (IHP) has shown that recent immigrants tend to have better health than the native-born population in their host countries. In contrast, more established immigrants often report similar or worse health outcomes than natives. A major shortcoming of these studies is that many employ cross-sectional designs. Thus, they are unable to distinguish individual-level variation from health differences between cohorts. Furthermore, many studies focus on the U.S. context, whereas results in Europe are more scarce and inconclusive. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP, 1994-2021), we compare the trajectories of migrants and natives in terms of various health outcomes over a large time span. We employ a longitudinal approach that stratifies immigrants by age at arrival (18-24, 25-34, and 35-45), and compares them to natives of the same age. Within each group, differences in age gradients in health between migrants and natives should reflect an effect of time since arrival for migrants. We employ multi-level random-effects and panel fixed-effects models. Our results confirm that immigrants in Germany report better health upon their arrival in the country and that their health deteriorates more steeply with tenure (age). The impact is strongest for immigrants who arrived between ages 35 and 45. Findings are strongest for self-reported health, but consistent across other outcomes, such as the SF-12 physical and mental health components or smoking behaviour and BMI. Our results provide novel evidence for an IHP in Germany through a rigorous longitudinal approach.

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 Presented in Session 30. Migrant Health