Estimating the effects of Mexico to U.S. migration on elevated depressive symptoms: evidence from pooled cross-national cohorts

Community-Based Residential Relocation in Middle and Older Age: A United States-China Comparison Study on Its Predictors and Associated Mortality Risk

OBJECTIVES

This study compared the United States and China in examining the predictors of community-based residential relocation and its associated mortality risk.

METHODS

Data from the 2010 to 2018 US Health and Retirement Study and from 2011 to 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study were used (NUS = 20,292 and NChina = 11,694). Community-dwelling respondents (aged 50+) reported whether they had relocated and were followed up until 2018. Log-binomial regression and Cox survival analysis were used.

RESULTS

In both countries, younger age, higher education, urban residence, and being a renter were associated with higher likelihood of relocation. Community-based relocation was associated with a lower mortality risk (US: HR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.57, 0.70; China: HR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.31, 0.50), and this association was significantly stronger in China compared to the United States.

DISCUSSION

Common predictors of community-based relocation were found in the United States and China. The relocation-related survival advantages may be attributed to a better post-move adaptation and living environment.

Propensity Scores in Health Disparities Research: The Example of Cognitive Aging and the Hispanic Paradox

BACKGROUND

Individuals of Mexican ancestry in the United States experience substantial socioeconomic disadvantages compared with non-Hispanic white individuals; however, some studies show these groups have similar dementia risk. Evaluating whether migration selection factors (e.g., education) associated with risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementia (ADRD) explain this paradoxical finding presents statistical challenges. Intercorrelation of risk factors, common with social determinants, could make certain covariate patterns very likely or unlikely to occur for particular groups, which complicates their comparison. Propensity score (PS) methods could be leveraged here to diagnose nonoverlap and help balance exposure groups.

METHODS

We compare conventional and PS-based methods to examine differences in cognitive trajectories between foreign-born Mexican American, US-born Mexican American, and US-born non-Hispanic white individuals in the Health and Retirement Study (1994-2018). We examined cognition using a global measure. We estimated trajectories of cognitive decline from linear mixed models adjusted for migration selection factors also associated with ADRD risk conventionally or with inverse probability weighting. We also employed PS trimming and match weighting.

RESULTS

In the full sample, where PS overlap was poor, unadjusted analyses showed both Mexican ancestry groups had worse baseline cognitive scores but similar or slower rates of decline compared with non-Hispanic white adults; adjusted findings were similar, regardless of method. Focusing analyses on populations where PS overlap was improved (PS trimming and match weighting) did not alter conclusions.

CONCLUSIONS

Attempting to equalize groups on migration selection and ADRD risk factors did not explain paradoxical findings for Mexican ancestry groups in our study.

Racial Differences in Employment and Poverty Histories and Health in Older Age

INTRODUCTION

Black Americans encounter more barriers in the job market and earn less than White Americans. However, the extent to which racial disparities in employment and poverty histories impact health is not fully understood. This study characterized employment‒poverty histories for Black and White middle-aged adults and examined their association with health.

METHODS

Respondents born in 1948-1953 and enrolled in the 2004 Health and Retirement Study (N_Black=555, N_White=2,209) were included. Sequence analysis grouped respondents with similar employment‒poverty trajectories from 2004 to 2016, and confounder-adjusted regression analyses estimated the associations between these trajectories and health in 2018. Analyses were conducted in 2021-2022.

RESULTS

More than 23% of Black respondents experienced both employment and poverty fluctuations, including bouts of extreme poverty (<50% of the federal poverty threshold), whereas no trajectory for White respondents included extreme poverty. Adversities in employment‒poverty were associated with worse health. For example, among Black respondents, those who experienced both employment and poverty fluctuations had worse cognition than those employed and not poor (β= -0.55 standardized units, 95% CI= -0.81, -0.30). Similarly, among White respondents, those who experienced employment fluctuations had worse cognition than those employed (β= -0.35, 95% CI= -0.46, -0.24). Notably, the employed and not poor trajectory was associated with worse survival among Black respondents than among White respondents.

CONCLUSIONS

Employment fluctuations were associated with worse health, especially cognitive function, where the association was stronger among Black Americans who experienced both employment fluctuations and poverty. Findings highlight the importance of enhancing employment stability and of antipoverty programs, especially for Black Americans.

Depressive Symptom Trajectories and Cognition Among Older American Couples: A Dyadic Perspective

OBJECTIVES

This study examined whether trajectories of depressive symptoms of one spouse are associated with the other spouse's memory.

METHODS

Longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (2004-2016) were used (N = 5690 heterosexual couples). Latent-class growth analysis and structural equation models examined the actor and partner effects of depressive symptom trajectories on memory.

RESULTS

Four depressive symptom trajectories were identified (i.e., persistently low, increasing, decreasing, and persistently high). Compared to the low trajectory group, the increasing and persistently high trajectories were associated with worse memory for both men and women. While none of the wives' depressive symptom trajectories was significantly associated with husbands' memory (p > .05), husbands' decreasing trajectory was linked to wives' better memory (β = 0.498, 95% CI = 0.106, 0.890).

DISCUSSION

Older adults with increasing and persistently high depressive symptoms may experience worse memory. Psychosocial interventions targeting depressive symptoms among older men may be beneficial to their spouses' memory.