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Household Density among Undocumented Mexican Immigrants in New York City

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Abstract

Background High household density increases exposure to communicable diseases, psychological distress in adults, and poor long-term health in children. High residential density, which may be a mediator of poor health, is common among immigrants. Methods We used data from a pilot survey among Mexican immigrants in New York City. Respondents were recruited through venue-based sampling in neighborhoods with large Mexican populations. Results Among respondents that reported being undocumented (N = 404), the mean number of people per room (PPR) of residence was 2.2. In multivariate analyses, living in conditions of >2 PPR was positively associated with living with one’s children (OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.4–3.9), having experienced food insecurity in the past 6 months (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.1–3.6), and language discrimination (OR = 2.3 compared to other forms of discrimination, 95% CI = 1.2–4.4). Conclusions Undocumented Mexican immigrants, particularly those who are linguistically marginalized and experience food insufficiency, live in conditions of marked household density in NYC.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the work done by Jerry Lopez, Stacey Strongarone, and Jennifer Ahern in establishing this study. We recognize the generous support of the National Institutes of Health, grant # DA 017642.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies, New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Katherine Standish, Vijay Nandi, Danielle C. Ompad & Sandro Galea

  2. University of Michigan School of Social Work, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Sandra Momper

  3. Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 109 Observatory St, Room 3663, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2029, USA

    Sandro Galea

  4. Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA

    Sandro Galea

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  1. Katherine Standish
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Correspondence to Sandro Galea.

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Standish, K., Nandi, V., Ompad, D.C. et al. Household Density among Undocumented Mexican Immigrants in New York City. J Immigrant Minority Health 12, 310–318 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-008-9175-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-008-9175-x

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