72
Conclusions
The results of this chapter show that despite positi-
ve indicators for certain health conditions and health
risk factors over the past ten years, the poor health of
Mexican immigrants in terms of certain diseases,
particularly diabetes, is of concern. Given the low so-
cioeconomic level, low rates of access to care and the
aging of this population, immediate efforts are requi-
red toprevent further deterioration inhealth.
Overall, there has been improvement in the
health risk profile for Mexican and Central American
immigrants in terms of decreases in smoking rates.
Mexican immigrant adults also enjoy lower rates of
cardiovascular disease, cancer and hypertension.
However, diabetes is a condition that supposes a sig-
nificant current threat tohealth, asMexican immigrant
adults are the group for which diagnosis of this con-
dition is increasingmost rapidly. It is also problematic
that Mexican immigrant adults over 65make up the
group with the highest rates of diabetes, as they are
alsomore likely to livewith low incomesand lackhealth
care. And for newly arrivedmigrants, changes adopted
in the host country put them at increased risk for de-
veloping the disease in future years.With the relation-
shipofdiabetes toother chronicdiseases, these trends
point to a growing public health problem that needs
addressing. Improvement in prevention, diagnosis and
treatmentof thediseasecanbemoresuccessful if car-
ried out in conjunction with improvements in health
insurance coverage and access to quality care for the
immigrant population.
migration & health •
mexican immigrants in the us: a 10 year perspective
