National Estimates for Developmental and Physical Health Among Middle Eastern and North African Children in the United States

Abstract

Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) children in the United States (US) have been invisibilized in population health research due to being classified as White on federal reporting forms. Our primary objective was to estimate and compare the prevalence of developmental and physical health conditions among foreign-born MENA children compared to US-born White children. Cross-sectional data from the 2000-2018 National Health Interview Survey (n = 358,686 children; ages 0-17 years) captured parent reports of their child's developmental or physical health conditions. Foreign-born MENA were compared to US-born White and foreign-born White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian children. Age- and sex-adjusted prevalence estimates were calculated. Logistic regression was used to compare foreign-born MENA to US-born White children after adjusting for sociodemographic factors. The prevalence of any health conditions among MENA children was 8.3%, which was significantly lower than US-born (16.8%) and foreign-born (13.7%) White children (p <.05). Foreign-born MENA children had lower odds of ADD/ADHD (OR = 0.26; 95%CI = 0.15-0.46), developmental delays (OR = 0.47; 95%CI = 0.25-0.89), and asthma (OR = 0.62; 95%CI = 0.41-0.96) compared to US-born White children. All foreign-born groups had lower odds of ADD/ADHD and asthma compared to US-born White children. Our findings support the immigrant health paradox, theorizing that the health of foreign-born individuals is better than US-born individuals. Health patterns among foreign-born MENA children are more similar to foreign-born minoritized children. Future studies should examine how the health patterns of foreign-born MENA children may change longitudinally as they become more acculturated to living in the United States.

Keywords: Asthma; Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity; Ethnicity; Immigrant health; Middle Eastern North African; National health interview survey; Prevalence; United States.