The Burden of Culture? Health Outcomes Among Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union in the United States

Immigrants in the U.S. often experience better health than the native-born, and many explanations for this phenomenon center around the positive health behaviors that immigrants bring from their home cultures. Immigrants from the former Soviet Union may be an exception; because they come from societies where unhealthy lifestyles and high mortality are common, they are often expected to experience worse health than the native population. Using data from the Integrated Health Interview Series, I compare FSU immigrants with U.S.-born, non-Hispanic whites on several health measures. FSU immigrants are twice as likely as native whites to report fair or poor health, but they are less likely to smoke or drink, and are less likely to report a functional limitation. FSU immigrants’ advantage in functional limitation is largely explained by their very high levels of education and marriage, indicating that selectivity is important to understanding the health of this population.