Gee Gilbert C, de Castro A B, Wang May C, Crespi Catherine M, Morey Brittany N, Fujishiro Kaori
J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2015 May;26(2):488-504. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2015.0045.
Most studies of immigrant health are cross-sectional and fail to collect information prior to migration, leading to potential bias and confounding. The present pilot study examines the feasibility of studying migrants prospectively, with baseline data collected before migration. The study followed two cohorts of Filipinos for one year, a migrant cohort (n=27) that emigrated to the U.S. and a second non-migrant cohort (n=26) that remained in the Philippines. The one-year retention rate was 96%. The migrant cohort arrived in the U.S. within two months of their baseline assessment. Migrants and non-migrants did not differ with regard to body mass index, waist circumference, or waist to hip ratio at baseline or at follow-up. It is feasible to conduct a transnational, longitudinal study of two cohorts of Filipinos. This design provides important pre-migration information, is analogous to a natural experiment, can be upscaled, and allows for a rigorous examination of immigrant health.
大多数关于移民健康的研究都是横断面研究，且未能收集移民前的信息，这可能导致潜在的偏差和混杂因素。本试点研究探讨了前瞻性研究移民的可行性，并在移民前收集了基线数据。该研究对两组菲律宾人进行了为期一年的跟踪，一组是移民到美国的移民队列（n = 27），另一组是留在菲律宾的非移民队列（n = 26）。一年的保留率为96%。移民队列在基线评估后的两个月内抵达美国。在基线或随访时，移民和非移民在体重指数、腰围或腰臀比方面没有差异。对两组菲律宾人进行跨国纵向研究是可行的。这种设计提供了重要的移民前信息，类似于自然实验，可以扩大规模，并允许对移民健康进行严格审查。
