Factors Associated with Depression Among Immigrants in the U.S.

Migrants come to the United States from communities affected by war, conflict, or economic crisis. They are vulnerable to poor physical and mental health. To assess the prevalence of depression and related risk factors amongst immigrants in the United States. Data from the 2017 National Health Interview Surveys was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows. Of the 77,842 individuals aged 18 years and above who participated in the survey, 4676 (6.0%) were immigrants. Prevalence of depression among immigrants was 1.1% compared to 0.9% for U.S citizens. Being an immigrant reduced the odds of depression by 18%; [OR 0.82 (C.I) of 0.60-1.12]. However, males were more likely than females to be depressed [OR 1.20 (1.02-1.41). This study revealed that the prevalence of depression is low among immigrants. This underscores the need for more studies to understand why this population is doing better despite the stressful physical conditions they experience.