Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Mar 28;25(1):1182.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22297-z.

Health disparities between native and foreign-born older population in India: Does migration status matter in later life?

Vasim Ahamad  1 , Ram B Bhagat  2
Affiliations

Health disparities between native and foreign-born older population in India: Does migration status matter in later life?

Vasim Ahamad et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Ageing and migration are both contemporary phenomena and challenging for modern society in the 21st century. Persons ageing with migration status might have a double risk of vulnerability to poor health outcomes. This study examines the health disparities between foreign-born and native populations in India.

Methods: The data drawn for the study from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) Wave-I (2017-18). The study used univariate and bivariate analysis to examine health disparities between native and foreign-born groups, and logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between migration status and health outcomes of older persons.

Results: Over fifty percent (56.5%) of the older persons (age 60+ years) were migrants; of these migrants of older persons, 55% were internally migrated, and 1.5% were foreign-born migrants in India. The foreign-born migrants persons showed a higher prevalence of poor SRH, chronic conditions, depression symptoms, and physical limitations than internal migrants and non-migrant groups. Further, the logistic regression result shows that foreign-born migrants were more likely to have poor SRH [AOR:1.72; CI: 1.45-2.04], chronic conditions [AOR=1.56; CI: 1.26-1.81], depression symptoms [AOR 1.14; CI: 1.07-1.21], and physical limitations [AOR 1.29; CI: 1.21-1.38], than non-migrants. Moreover, the study shows that the migrants' health disparities also vary with their length of stay and country of origin.

Conclusions: This cross-sectional study suggests that persons with internal and foreign-born migrant status were more vulnerable to poor health outcomes than non-migrants in their later life. This study predicts that migrants need separate health policies as they are in poorer health conditions than non-migrants. Policymakers should initiate equal access to healthcare services for older internal and foreign-born migrants in India.

Keywords: Ageing; Foreign-born; Health disparities; Immigrants; India; Migration.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The Given study is a secondary data analysis based on LASI wave-I (2017–18). The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) extended the necessary guidance and ethical approval for conducting the LASI. Therefore, information from respondents is not collected as part of the study, so consent to participate is not required. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Selection of sample size for the study
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Migration status and level among older persons in India, LASI-1 (2017–18), weighted%
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Prevalence of health outcomes with migration status among older persons in India, LASI-1 (2017–18), weighted%
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. United Nations. World Population Ageing 2019. 2020. Available from: https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/agein....
    1. UN DESA Population Division. International migrant stock 2020: destination and origin, table 1: international migrant stock at mid-year by sex and by region, country or area of destination and origin. 2020. Available from: https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/content/international-migrant-stock. Cited 2024 Jul 22.
    1. Rechel B, Mladovsky P, Ingleby D, Mackenbach JP, McKee M. Migration and health in an increasingly diverse Europe. Lancet. 2013;381(9873):1235–45. - PubMed
    1. White P. Migrant populations approaching old age: prospects in Europe. J Ethn Migr Stud. 2006;32(8):1283–300.
    1. McDonald JT, Kennedy S. Insights into the “healthy immigrant effect”: health status and health service use of immigrants to Canada. Soc Sci Med. 2004;59(8):1613–27. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources