Self-rated health of Middle Eastern immigrants in the US: a national study

Abstract Objectives The aim of the study was to examine self-rated health (SRH) of Middle Eastern immigrants in the US compared with US-born non-Hispanic whites and to examine factors associated with fair/poor SRH among Middle Eastern immigrants in the US. Study design We used a cross-sectional design to analyze the National Health Interview Survey from 2001 to 2015. Methods Secondary survey analysis procedures were conducted using the SAS program, with a total of 3,966 Middle Eastern and 731,285 US-born non-Hispanic whites. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were used. Results Middle Eastern immigrants had significantly higher rates of fair/poor SRH than US-born whites across the three survey waves. Reporting symptoms of serious psychological distress, older age (60+ years), current alcohol-drinking status, and having a family member with disability were the factors associated significantly with higher odds of reporting fair/poor SRH in Middle Eastern immigrants, whereas education was a protecting factor of fair/poor SRH. Conclusions This study indicates that Middle Eastern immigrants are one of the US immigrant populations that report poor health status, which reveals the need for health policy attention to reduce health disparities.