Adults born in France to two immigrant parents are more likely to die than so-called native French people.
- In 2014, the population of individuals born in France with at least one immigrant parent represented 9.5 million people, or 14.3% of the total population.
- This population does not have the same health as that of their parents or that of the so-called French stock.
For the first time, the mortality levels of adults born in France to two immigrant parents have been analyzed, revealing strong health inequalities.
Among the countries of the European Union with more than one million inhabitants, France is the country with the largest population of descendants of second-generation immigrants, both in absolute and relative terms. This second-generation population is, today, vast and diversified: the most represented regions of origin are Southern Europe (Portugal, Italy or Spain) and North Africa (Algeria, Morocco or Tunisia), each region representing about a third. The final third includes a very diverse set of parents’ countries of origin, including countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and Asia.
A unique research work in France
“While the inequalities in terms of educational level, employment and income of the descendants of second-generation immigrants of non-European origin are well documented, no research work had hitherto been interested in the disparities in the field mortality”, explain the authors of the study Michel Guillot, Myriam Khlat and Matthew Wallace.
To overcome this lack of data, they used the Longitudinal Mortality Sample (LMS), a nationally representative sample of 380,000 people aged 18 and over in 1999 (from the Family History Study -EHF of 1999) and exploited a follow-up of mortality by means of matched death registers until 2010. They compared the levels of mortality of the descendants of second-generation immigrants aged 18 to 64 and originating from Southern Europe and North Africa with those of their first-generation immigrant counterparts and with those of the reference population (people born in France of two parents themselves born in France).
Significant excess mortality observed among men of North African origin
While the estimated probability of death between the ages of 18 and 65 is 162 per 1,000 for men in the reference population, it is 1.7 times higher for men born in France to two immigrant parents from Africa. North (276 per 1,000). On the other hand, it is lower for those of the second generation of southern European origin (106 per 1,000), as well as for first-generation immigrant men of all origins. “The excess mortality observed for second-generation men of North African origin remains significant after adjusting for level of education”say the scientists.
The results for women show no statistically significant differences from the reference population, except for first-generation immigrant women of Southern European origin, who have a mortality advantage similar to that of men. .
Second-generation status of North African origin, a major source of health disparity
“The low mortality observed for the first generation is partly explained by the selection effects of migration (“healthy immigrant” effect), a phenomenon well known in studies on the subject”, detail the researchers. “The reasons for the excess mortality among men of second-generation North African origin are more difficult to identify, due to the lack of data, particularly on health-related behaviors and causes of death. they add.
With regard to factors such as socio-economic status, the results suggest that this excess mortality is not simply explained by differences in educational level, but by a wide range of disadvantages, particularly in the labor market and on the level of income. Studies have shown that the perception of discrimination in the labor market is more prevalent in the second generation than in the first generation of immigrants of the same origin, which can have a negative impact on health.
Conclusion: “These initial mortality results show that the many disadvantages faced by men of second-generation North African origin in France have an important and hitherto unknown public health dimension,” write the INED experts. “They are particularly significant given the size of the population of North African origin in France, as well as the many socio-economic difficulties and phenomena of discrimination that it already faces”.
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