RESUMO

The growth of Protestantism in Brazil has been associated with changes in mortality and health-related outcomes. Recent research has suggested that affiliation with Protestant churches may positively influence their members' well being by: 1) providing moral directives, 2) creating formal or informal sanctions, and 3) promoting social networks and support. This article uses data from the 1996 and 2006 Brazilian Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) and Cox's proportional hazard models to examine the relationship between infant mortality and mothers' religious involvement. Unadjusted results show that differences in the hazard ratios of infant mortality by mothers' religious involvement are considerable and statistically significant. When one controls demographic and socioeconomic variables in the 1996 DHS, the baseline relationship disappears, supporting the hypothesis of selectivity. Results using the 2006 DHS are somewhat different and suggest that the association between religious involvement and infant mortality was stronger in Brazil in 2006 than in 1996. This research should encourage future studies on religious involvement and health-related outcomes in Brazil. This topic deserves further consideration from Brazilian demographers not simply because this country has undergone enormous changes in its religious landscape over recent decades, but also because religion can affect believers' lifestyles and behaviors, and this can indirectly influence their health and well-being.

O crescimento do Protestantismo no Brasil tem sido associado a mudanças em variáveis de mortalidade e saúde. Estudos recentes sugerem que a afiliação com igrejas Protestantes pode positivamente influenciar o bem-estar de seus membros a partir: 1) do ensinamento de diretrizes morais; 2) da criação de sanções formais e informais; e 3) da promoção de redes sociais e de suporte. Este trabalho utiliza dados da Pesquisa Nacional de Demografia e Saúde (PNDS) de 1996 e 2006 e modelos de risco proporcional de Cox para examinar a associação entre mortalidade infantil e envolvimento religioso da mãe. Resultados bivariados mostram que as diferenças nas razões de risco da mortalidade infantil por envolvimento religioso materno são consideráveis e estatisticamente significativas. Ao controlar por variáveis demográficas e socioeconômicas na amostra de 1996, esta associação inicial desaparece, o que corrobora a hipótese de seletividade. Resultados usando a PNDS de 2006 mostram, no entanto, que os diferenciais na mortalidade infantil por participação em cultos religiosos ou missas ainda são observados no modelo multivariado. Tal constatação sugere que a associação entre envolvimento religioso materno e mortalidade infantil no Brasil é mais forte em 2006 do que era em 1996. Este trabalho deve encorajar novos estudos sobre a relação entre religião e variáveis de saúde no Brasil. Este tema merece maior consideração dos demógrafos no Brasil não somente porque este país tem passado por profundas mudanças religiosas, mas também porque a religião pode afetar o comportamento e o estilo de vida de seus fiéis, o que, por sua vez, pode influenciar o bem-estar e a saúde destes indivíduos.

El crecimiento del protestantismo en Brasil ha sido asociado a cambios en variables de mortalidad y salud. Estudios recientes sugieren que la afiliación a iglesias protestantes puede influenciar positivamente en el bienestar de sus miembros por: 1) la enseñanza de directrices morales; 2) la creación de sanciones formales e informales; y 3) la promoción de redes sociales y de apoyo. Este trabajo utiliza datos de la Investigación Nacional de Demografía y Salud (PNDS) de 1996 y 2006 y modelos de riesgo proporcional de Cox para examinar la asociación entre mortalidad infantil e implicación religiosa de la madre. Resultados bivariados muestran que las diferencias en las razones de riesgo de la mortalidad infantil por implicación religiosa materna son considerables y estadísticamente significativas. Al controlar por variables demográficas y socioeconómicas en la muestra de 1996, esta asociación inicial desaparece, lo que corrobora la hipótesis de selectividad. Resultados usando la PNDS de 2006 muestran, no obstante, que los diferenciales en la mortalidad infantil por participación en cultos religiosos o misas se observan incluso en el modelo multivariado. Tal constatación sugiere que la asociación entre implicación religiosa materna y mortalidad infantil en Brasil es más fuerte en 2006 de lo que era en 1996. Este trabajo debe animar nuevos estudios sobre la relación entre religión y variables de salud en Brasil. Este tema merece mayor consideración de los demógrafos en Brasil, no solamente porque este país ha pasado por profundos cambios religiosos, sino también porque la religión puede afectar el comportamiento y el estilo de vida de sus fieles, lo que a su vez, puede influenciar en el bienestar y la salud de estos individuos.

Assuntos

RESUMO

This study explores rural and urban differences in the relationship between U.S. migration experience measured at the individual, household, and community levels and individual-level infant mortality outcomes in a national sample of recent births in Mexico. Using 2000 Mexican Census data and multi-level regression models, we find that women's own U.S. migration experience is associated with lower odds of infant mortality in both rural and urban Mexico, possibly reflecting a process of healthy migrant selectivity. Household migration has mixed blessings for infant health in rural places: remittances are beneficial for infant survival, but recent out-migration is disruptive. Recent community-level migration experience is not significantly associated with infant mortality overall, although in rural places, there is some evidence that higher levels of community migration are associated with lower infant mortality. Household- and community-level migration have no relationship with infant mortality in urban places. Thus, international migration is associated with infant outcomes in Mexico in fairly complex ways, and the relationships are expressed most profoundly in rural areas of Mexico.

RESUMO

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates how prenatal demographic, social, and behavioral characteristics of Mexican origin immigrant mothers, which are linked to their relatively healthy birth outcomes, influence the subsequent health of their children in comparison to other racial and ethnic groups. METHODS: We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study of a cohort of 2,819 children born between 1998 and 2000 to analyze chronic health conditions at age 5 using logistic regression models. RESULTS: Multivariate analyses revealed no significant differences in chronic health conditions at age 5 between children of Mexican immigrant mothers and non-Hispanic white children, controlling for socioeconomic status and access to health care. In contrast, children of U.S.-born Mexican American mothers had significantly higher odds of chronic conditions compared to non-Hispanic white children. Social support and health care use are related to child health outcomes but do not explain racial and ethnic differences. CONCLUSIONS: Health policy must respond in order to help maintain the healthy outcomes of Mexican American children of immigrants and reverse the deteriorating health of children in subsequent generations, in light of considerable socioeconomic disadvantage and inadequate access to health care.

RESUMO

Recent research suggests that the favorable mortality outcomes for the Mexican immigrant population in the United States may largely be attributable to selective out-migration among Mexican immigrants, resulting in artificially low recorded death rates for the Mexican-origin population. In this paper we calculate detailed age-specific infant mortality rates by maternal race/ethnicity and nativity for two important reasons: (1) it is extremely unlikely that women of Mexican origin would migrate to Mexico with newborn babies, especially if the infants were only afew hours or afew days old; and (2) more than 50% of all infant deaths in the United States occur during the first week of life, when the chances of out-migration are very small. We use concatenated data from the U.S. linked birth and infant death cohort files from 1995 to 2000, which provides us with over 20 million births and more than 150,000 infant deaths to analyze. Our results clearly show that first-hour, first-day, and first-week mortality rates among infants born in the United States to Mexican immigrant women are about 10% lower than those experienced by infants of non-Hispanic, white U.S.-born women. It is extremely unlikely that such favorable rates are artificially caused by the out-migration of Mexican-origin women and infants, as we demonstrate with a simulation exercise. Further, infants born to U.S.-born Mexican American women exhibit rates of mortality that are statistically equal to those of non-Hispanic white women during the first weeks of life and fare considerably better than infants born to non-Hispanic black women, with whom they share similar socioeconomic profiles. These patterns are all consistent with the definition of the epidemiologic paradox as originally proposed by Markides and Coreil (1986).

Assuntos