Immigration Climate as a Possible Driver of Geographic Variation in Very Preterm Birth Risk to Hispanic Women in the United States, 2005–2016

Kaitlyn Stanhope , Emory University
Michael R. Kramer, Emory University

Restrictive immigration policies may adversely impact immigrant health through several pathways, including by increasing chronic stress. Chronic stress is associated with increased risk of very preterm birth (VPTB). Our goal is to explore geographic variation in VPTB risk and examine whether restrictive state immigration policy climate is associated with increased risk of VPTB among US and foreign-born Hispanic mothers. Data from US live births (2005-2016) were used to fit nested generalized linear mixed models with state and county random effects. For each model, the median odds ratio quantifies unexplained within- and between-state risk variation. The final model was used to estimate the effect of restrictive immigration climate on VPTB risk. Living in a state with a more restrictive immigration climate was associated with a slight increase in the odds of VPTB (adjusted OR: 1.07 (1.04 – 1.10)).

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 Presented in Session 162. Immigration Policy and Immigrant Well-being