Pawson I G, Janes G
Soc Sci Med. 1982;16(2):183-90. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(82)90021-1.
Because migration is such a widespread phenomenon, studies of the effects of accompanying life change on the health and well-being of the migrant have special significance in areas like California that support large migrant communities. Previous studies have shown that increased weight and elevated blood pressure may be linked to changes in diet, exercise habits, and the altered sociocultural milieu of the migrant. Among Samoans, a Pacific Island population of Polynesian descent, these changes appear to be particularly prominent in segments of the population that have moved to the environment of Hawaii, which epidemiologic studies have characterized as "intermediate-modern.' Preliminary findings from a survey of weight, height, blood pressure, fasting glucose levels, and mortality records among Samoans living in California indicate that individuals living under more highly urbanized conditions exhibit even more pronounced changes. Adult weight among Samoans in California (San Francisco) greatly exceeds that of their counterparts in Hawaii and Samoa. Elevated blood pressures are also seen, though the extent to which this is associated with excessive weight gain is unclear. The number of individuals with high (greater than or equal to 160 mg/dl) fasting plasma glucose levels would be consistent with a population in which the prevalence of diabetes is many times higher than in the U.S. population. Although mortality patterns are difficult to determine for this population, available records suggest an excess mortality from cardiovascular diseases of all types among adult Samoans under age 50. Further investigations will attempt to link biobehavioral changes in the migrants' lifestyle to these observed patterns of risk.
由于移民是一种非常普遍的现象，在像加利福尼亚这样有大量移民社区的地区，研究伴随生活变化对移民健康和幸福的影响具有特殊意义。先前的研究表明，体重增加和血压升高可能与饮食、运动习惯的改变以及移民所处社会文化环境的变化有关。在萨摩亚人（一个有波利尼西亚血统的太平洋岛屿人群）中，这些变化在移民到夏威夷环境的人群中似乎尤为突出，流行病学研究将夏威夷的环境特征描述为“中等现代”。对居住在加利福尼亚的萨摩亚人的体重、身高、血压、空腹血糖水平和死亡率记录进行调查的初步结果表明，生活在城市化程度更高环境中的个体表现出更为明显的变化。加利福尼亚（旧金山）的萨摩亚成年人的体重远远超过他们在夏威夷和萨摩亚的同龄人。血压升高的情况也有发现，不过其与体重过度增加的关联程度尚不清楚。空腹血糖水平高（大于或等于160毫克/分升）的个体数量与糖尿病患病率比美国人群高出许多倍的人群情况相符。尽管很难确定该人群的死亡率模式，但现有记录表明50岁以下成年萨摩亚人各类心血管疾病的死亡率过高。进一步的调查将试图把移民生活方式中的生物行为变化与这些观察到的风险模式联系起来。
