Mental health risk in Mexican migrants

• April 30, 2024

The migratory phenomenon in Mexico it is not something new. For several decades now many Mexicans have decided to leave the country to look for luck in other latitudes and thus get a better quality of life . In general, the United States has been the most recurrent destination for nationals; either legal or illegally , which is more common.

Mexicans who migrate to the United States have a significant risk of suffering mental disorders , such as depression and anxiety; this is revealed by a study done by scientists from the University of California School of Medicine , Davis and the National Institute of Psychiatry of Mexico, published in Archives of General Psychiatry (Archives of General Psychiatry).

In this study it was found that those most likely to suffer diseases of this nature are young people among 18 Y 25 years , in which the chances of suffering a depressive disorder is 4.5 times higher than in young people who remain in their country of origin.

The doctor Joshua Breslau , the main author of the study comments in an interview BBC World : "We had the unique opportunity to examine the effect of emigration comparing emigrants with people in their country of origin who do not emigrate. "

"The results reveal that after migrating from Mexico to the United States, they are more likely to develop significant problems of mental health than the individuals who remain in Mexico ", adds the researcher.

A little studied part

This is an unprecedented investigation, since the bulk of the studies carried out on migrants have been directed to the sexual health and reproductive, so the appearance has been left relegated psychological which, as demonstrated in the study in question, is of great importance to understand the behavior of this sector of the population.

Previous studies had revealed that among the Mexican-Americans , just like among Hispanic Americans in general, the adoption of patterns of conduct of the country to which they migrate is associated with a worse state of mental health ; but it was not clear if this state was linked to migration.

Currently in the United States they live approximately 12 millions of people born in Mexico, which is equivalent to approximately 30% of the total population of migrants, and almost 25% of the population of Hispanic origin in that country.

The study compared data on mental health , both in Mexico and in the United States, of just over 3,000 young Mexicans between 18 and 35 years old; of which 550, men and women, had emigrated to the United States, and 2,500 were still living in Mexico. The researchers took into account factors that could have a impact in the disorders of cheer up or anxiety, such as differences in socioeconomic level .

The younger the risk, the greater

Through face-to-face surveys in the homes of participants about their experience of some depressive or anxiety disorder, including various types of phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder, it was discovered that migrants, during the period following their arrival in Together, they were twice as likely to experience diseases as young people who had not migrated. However, the risk of suffering from a depressive disorder is much higher among migrants younger , those between 18 Y 25 years .

"This study confirms our previous research that suggests that the longer migrants stay in their country of origin, less the likelihood of them developing anxiety and mood disorders "explains the professor Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola , director of Center for the Reduction of Disparities in Health , of the University of California , Davis .

The researcher adds that "migrants face a wide variety of mental problems which are exacerbated by the enormous stress of political and economic uprooting and victimization. "

"The only effective way to improve this scenario is with a binational or multinational ".

The doctor also participated in Mexico, the doctor Guilherme Borges and the doctor Maria Elena Medina Mora , of the National Institute of Psychiatry.

Video Medicine: New immigrant mental health website (April 2024).