Migrants Tend to Be Healthier Than Local Residents, Says a Study

Migrants also help combat diseases by joining the healthcare services in the countries where they migrate to.

The study also found that migrants have ‘greater life expectancy than residents of host countries and are less likely to die of illnesses such as cancer and heart disease’.  

(Photo: iStockphoto)

A new study has found that people who migrate to wealthy countries such as the US tend to be healthier than the local residents and they also help combat diseases by joining the healthcare services in those countries.

The report, published by University College London and the Lancet medical journal, states that arguments which say that migrants are risky for the healthcare system of the country they are visiting are a myths used to propagate ‘anti-immigrant sentiment’.

The study also found that migrants have ‘greater life expectancy than residents of host countries and are less likely to die of illnesses such as cancer and heart disease’.

But the migrants may be more prone to illnesses such as HIV, tuberculosis and spread the infection among their own communities and not the general population.

Ibrahim Abubakar, chair of the UCL-Lancet Commission on Migration and Health that conducted the study, said:

Our analysis suggests that migrants are healthier, migrants contribute positively to the economies of host countries, and in wealthy countries like the United Kingdom and United States, migrants constitute a large portion of the health workforce.

The report, which analysed over 96 studies and 5,464 mortality estimates for more than 15 million migrants, also found some instability between migrant groups. For example, mortality was lower among those from east Asia and Latin America but higher among those from North Africa and eastern Europe.

Lancet Editor Richard Horton said in a statement:

In too many countries, the issue of migration is used to divide societies and advance a populist agenda. Migrants commonly contribute more to the economy than they cost.

The authors acknowledged that there was a lack of data for migrants of low and middle income countries. So the report might not reflect the whole picture since most of the migration happens to low and middle income countries.