Migration-Related Weight Changes among African Immigrants in the United States
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
- Participants
- Design
- Outcome of interest
- Exposures
- Covariates
- Statistical Analyses
3. Results
3.1. Sociodemographic Characteristics
3.2. BMI, BMI Category, and Weight Changes Post Migration
3.3. Factors Associated with BMI Category Changes
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Variable | Total (N = 300) | Healthy BMI Change or Maintenance N = 43 | Unhealthy BMI Maintenance N = 66 | Unhealthy BMI Change N = 191 | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Current age, mean (SD) | 46.89 (11.4) | 42.57 (10.7) a * | 49.44 (11.2) b | 46.97 (11.5) b | 0.009 † |
Age at migration, mean (SD) | 33.03 (10.6) | 33.30 (9.4) a * | 40.39 (11.0) b | 30.42 (9.41) ac | 0.000 † |
Sex | 0.119 | ||||
Male | 132 (44.00) | 25 (58.14) | 26 (39.39) | 81 (42.41) | |
Female | 168 (56.00) | 18 (41.86) | 40 (60.61) | 110 (57.59) | |
Marital status | 0.833 | ||||
Never married | 26 (8.67) | 5 (11.63) | 4 (6.06) | 17 (8.9) | |
Married or cohabiting | 222 (74.00) | 32 (74.42) | 49 (74.24) | 141 (73.82) | |
Separated/widowed/divorced | 53 (17.33) | 6 (13.95) | 13 (19.7) | 33 (17.28) | |
Educational level | 0.447 | ||||
Less than bachelor’s degree | 104 (34.78) | 14 (32.56) | 21 (31.82) | 69 (36.32) | |
Bachelor’s degree | 102 (34.11) | 18 (41.86) | 19 (28.79) | 65 (34.21) | |
Graduate | 93 (31.10) | 11 (25.58) | 26 (39.39) | 56 (29.47) | |
Income level | 0.360 | ||||
<$40,000 | 52 (18.51) | 12 (28.57) | 12 (20.69) | 28 (15.47) | |
$40,000–<$70,000 | 72 (25.62) | 8 (19.05) | 15 (25.86) | 49 (27.07) | |
$70,000–<$100,000 | 68 (24.20) | 9 (21.43) | 10 (17.24) | 49 (27.07) | |
≥$100,000 | 89 (31.67) | 13 (30.95) | 21 (36.21) | 55 (30.39) | |
Currently employed | 0.002 † | ||||
Yes | 246 (83.39) | 7 (16.28) | 20 (30.77) | 22 (11.76) | |
No | 49 (16.61) | 36 (83.72) | 45 (69.23) | 165 (88.24) | |
Percentage of life in the US | 0.000 † | ||||
<25% | 129 (43.00) | 27 (62.79) | 44 (66.67) | 58 (30.37) | |
25% or more | 171 (57.00) | 16 (37.21) | 22 (33.33) | 133 (69.63) | |
Reason for migration | 0.034 † | ||||
Education | 74 (25.96) | 5 (11.9) | 11 (17.19) | 58 (32.4) | |
Employment/Economy | 70 (24.56) | 17 (40.48) | 15 (23.44) | 38 (21.23) | |
Family reasons | 87 (30.53) | 13 (30.95) | 22 (34.38) | 52 (29.05) | |
Asylum/Refugee | 21 (7.37) | 2 (4.76) | 8 (12.5) | 11 (6.15) | |
Other reasons | 33 (11.58) | 5 (11.9) | 8 (12.5) | 20 (11.17) |
Model 1 | Model 2 | |
---|---|---|
Healthy BMI change or maintenance | 1 (ref) | 1 (ref) |
Unhealthy BMI maintenance | ||
Age at migration, years | 1.06 (1.02, 1.10) ** | 1.07 (1.01, 1.14) * |
Sex | ||
Male | 1 (ref) | 1 (ref) |
Female | 2.13 (0.98, 4.67) | 2.67 (1.02, 7.02) * |
Stress level | ||
Low (PSS < 6) | 1 (ref) | 1 (ref) |
High (PSS ≥ 6) | 2.06 (0.92, 4.64) | 1.96 (0.77, 4.99) |
Reason for migration | ||
Employment/Economy | 1 (ref) | 1 (ref) |
Education | 2.49 (0.70, 8.83) | 2.55 (0.61, 10.61) |
Family reasons | 1.92 (0.72, 5.09) | 1.11 (0.34, 3.65) |
Asylum/Refugee | 4.53 (0.83, 24.76) | 3.06 (0.43, 21.78) |
Others | 1.81 (0.49, 6.76) | 1.29 (0.27, 6.04) |
Percentage of life in the US | ||
<25% | 1 (ref) | 1 (ref) |
≥25% | 0.84 (0.38, 1.88) | 1.16 (0.39, 3.45) |
Unhealthy BMI change | ||
Age at migration, years | 0.97 (0.93, 1.00) | 1.00 (0.94, 1.06) |
Sex | ||
Male | 1 (ref) | 1 (ref) |
Female | 1.88 (0.96, 3.68) | 1.75 (0.78, 3.92) |
Stress level | ||
Low (PSS < 6) | 1 (ref) | 1 (ref) |
High (PSS ≥ 6) | 2.13 (1.05, 4.33) * | 2.24 (1.01, 4.99) * |
Reason for migration | ||
Employment/Economy | 1 (ref) | 1 (ref) |
Education | 5.19 (1.76, 15.24) ** | 3.88 (1.17; 12.75) * |
Family reasons | 1.79 (0.77, 4.12) | 1.23 (0.46, 3.24) |
Asylum/Refugee | 2.46 (0.49, 12.32) | 2.15 (0.35, 13.03) |
Others | 1.79 (0.57, 5.56) | 1.3 (0.36, 4.85) |
Percentage of life in the US | ||
<25% | 1 (ref) | 1 (ref) |
≥25% | 3.77 (1.89, 7.52) ** | 2.78 (1.1, 6.97) * |
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Byiringiro, S.; Koirala, B.; Ajibewa, T.; Broni, E.K.; Liu, X.; Adeleye, K.; Turkson-Ocran, R.-A.N.; Baptiste, D.; Ogungbe, O.; Himmelfarb, C.D.; et al. Migration-Related Weight Changes among African Immigrants in the United States. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 15501. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315501
Byiringiro S, Koirala B, Ajibewa T, Broni EK, Liu X, Adeleye K, Turkson-Ocran R-AN, Baptiste D, Ogungbe O, Himmelfarb CD, et al. Migration-Related Weight Changes among African Immigrants in the United States. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(23):15501. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315501
Chicago/Turabian StyleByiringiro, Samuel, Binu Koirala, Tiwaloluwa Ajibewa, Eric K. Broni, Xiaoyue Liu, Khadijat Adeleye, Ruth-Alma N. Turkson-Ocran, Diana Baptiste, Oluwabunmi Ogungbe, Cheryl Dennison Himmelfarb, and et al. 2022. "Migration-Related Weight Changes among African Immigrants in the United States" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 23: 15501. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315501