Florida State University, Department of Sociology, 526 Bellamy Building, P.O. Box 3062270, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2270, USA.
Soc Sci Med. 2012 Dec;75(12):2076-84. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.04.005. Epub 2012 May 2.
Although some research suggests that the healthy immigrant effect extends to cognitive functioning, it is unclear whether this general pattern varies according to gender. We use six waves of data collected from the original cohort of the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly to estimate a series of linear growth curve models to assess variations in cognitive functioning trajectories by nativity status and age at migration to the U.S.A. among women and men. Our results show, among women and men, no differences in baseline cognitive status (intercepts) between early- (before age 20) and late-life (50 and older) immigrants and U.S.-born individuals of Mexican-origin. We also find, among women and men, that middle-life (between the ages of 20 and 49) immigrants tend to exhibit higher levels of baseline cognitive functioning than the U.S.-born. Our growth curve analyses suggest that the cognitive functioning trajectories (slopes) of women do not vary according to nativity status and age at migration. The cognitive functioning trajectories of early- and late-life immigrant men are also similar to those of U.S.-born men; however, those men who migrated in middle-life tend to exhibit slower rates of cognitive decline. A statistically significant interaction term suggests that the pattern for middle-life migration is more pronounced for men (or attenuated for women). In other words, although women and men who migrated in middle-life exhibit higher levels of baseline cognitive functioning, immigrant men tend to maintain this advantage for a longer period of time. Taken together, these patterns confirm that gender is an important conditioning factor in the association between immigrant status and cognitive functioning.
虽然一些研究表明健康移民效应延伸到认知功能，但尚不清楚这种总体模式是否因性别而异。我们使用从西班牙裔美国人老年流行病学研究的原始队列中收集的六波数据来估计一系列线性增长曲线模型，以评估女性和男性的出生地和移民到美国的年龄对认知功能轨迹的变化。我们的研究结果表明，在女性和男性中，早期（<20 岁）和晚期（50 岁及以上）移民与墨西哥裔出生的美国本土个体之间的认知状态基线（截距）没有差异。我们还发现，在女性和男性中，中年（20 至 49 岁之间）移民的认知功能基线水平往往高于美国本土出生的个体。我们的增长曲线分析表明，女性的认知功能轨迹（斜率）不受出生地和移民年龄的影响。早期和晚期移民男性的认知功能轨迹也与美国本土出生的男性相似；然而，那些在中年移民的男性则表现出认知衰退速度较慢。一个具有统计学意义的交互项表明，对于男性来说，中年移民的模式更为明显（对于女性来说则减弱）。换句话说，尽管中年移民的女性和男性的认知功能基线水平较高，但移民男性往往会在更长的时间内保持这种优势。综上所述，这些模式证实了性别是移民身份与认知功能之间关联的一个重要调节因素。
