Risk of Drug Overdose Mortality for Island-Born and US-Born Puerto Ricans, 2013-2019.

In the United States (US), individuals of Puerto Rican heritage die of drug overdoses at higher rates than other Hispanic groups or non-Hispanic Whites; yet, little is known about the extent to which drug overdose mortality affects island-born, versus US-born, Puerto Ricans. The distinction between Puerto Rican-born and US-born provides a starting point for culturally tailored services and interventions, as place of birth often informs language preferences and cultural identifications. Therefore, this study analyzed 2013-2019 death certificate data from the National Center for Health Statistics for 415,111 US deaths attributed to drug overdose. Drug overdose deaths were compared for island-born Puerto Ricans (N=3516), US-born Puerto Ricans (N=4949), and individuals not of Puerto Rican heritage (N=406,646). Drug overdose mortality rates, including age-specific and directly age-standardized rates, were calculated for each subgroup using population estimates from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Results indicated that age-adjusted drug overdose mortality rates over the period of 2013-2019 were significantly higher for island-born than US-born Puerto Rican men (46.8 versus 34.6, per 100,000), with rates in both groups significantly higher than for men not of Puerto Rican heritage (24.0 per 100,000). For women, in contrast, drug overdose mortality rates were lower for island-born than US-born Puerto Ricans (8.6 versus 11.1, per 100,000). Within stateside Puerto Rican communities, island-born men experience a disproportionate burden of drug overdose mortality, necessitating targeted, culturally appropriate interventions built around the specific norms, circumstances, and lived experiences shared by Puerto Rican migrants who use drugs.

Maternal mortality in England and Wales 1970-1985: an analysis by country of birth.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the risk of maternal mortality in immigrants to England and Wales. DESIGN: Analysis of death registrations, 1970-1985, by country of birth. SETTING: England and Wales. POPULATION: Women dying in England and Wales during pregnancy, childbirth or the puerperium, or dying from malignant tumour of the placenta. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The risk of dying in pregnancy, childbirth or the puerperium, adjusted for age and year of death, and the risk of cause-specific death, adjusted for age, in immigrants compared with women born in England and Wales. RESULTS: Women born in West Africa (relative risk 10.3; 95% CI 8.0-13.2) and the Caribbean (4.6; 3.8-5.7) were at very elevated risk of maternal death and of the main causes of death. Women from Southern Asia (1.6; 1.3-2.0) and "Europe and the USSR' (1.7; 1.2-2.3) were at moderate risk. Adjustment for year of death increased the estimates of risk and women born in the "Rest of the World' and Scotland were at significantly elevated risk. CONCLUSIONS: An increased incidence of obstetric conditions in immigrant groups may account for the elevated risk but it is also possible that differences in care may account for some of the additional risk. The pattern of increased risk does not appear to be explicable by the parity or social class distribution of immigrants as far as data are available on these. Research is required into the aetiology of the differential incidence of obstetric disease. The collection of routine mortality data which include maternal reproductive and social factors would elucidate the significance of such factors to maternal health. Further investigation into possible differences in the process of antenatal care between immigrants and non-immigrants is required, and into whether this affects the risk of maternal mortality.

[The use of personal sources for the study of emigration from Galicia: present state and perspectives]. / El uso de fuentes personales para el estudio de la emigracion de Galicia: estado presente y perspectivas.

PIP: "Spanish sources for the study of emigration are sparse and fragmentary.... Mortgage documents for the payment of ocean transportation enable us to appreciate the spreading action of shipping agents; official listings of draft dodgers reveal that in general the River Plate was a favorite destination, rather than Cuba or Brazil. People from Galicia emigrated from rural origins to urban destinations in America; the analysis of place of birth of emigrants residing in A Coruna at the time of emigration show that there was also, in some cases, a first stage of rural-urban migration within Galicia. The general picture of emigration from Galicia is built [up] through the combination of the existing sources in Spain." (EXCERPT)^ieng

[Surinamese, Antillian, and Aruban persons and families in the Netherlands, January 1, 1992]. / In Nederland woonachtige Surinaamse, Antilliaanse en Arubaanse personen en gezinnen, 1 januari 1992.

PIP: The authors provide data from a 1992 enumeration taken from computerized municipal population registers in the Netherlands. Information is included on characteristics of persons born in Suriname, the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba who live in the Netherlands. (SUMMARY IN ENG)^ieng

[When people born in French overseas departments return home to retire. A survey of intentions]. / Le retour au pays pour la retraite des personnes nees dans les DOM. Une enquete sur les intentions.

"Almost half of...over-45s born in French overseas departments and living in mainland France had plans to return overseas by the year 2000. The desire to return is more clear-cut among the 50 to 54 year olds. The younger people have yet to think seriously about retirement, whilst a number of the oldest individuals have already made definite plans." Data are from a survey carried out in 1992. (SUMMARY IN ENG AND GER AND SPA)

Family formation and marital selectivity among Colombian and Dominican immigrants in New York City.

"Utilizing data from a 1981 survey of Dominican and Colombian immigrants to New York City, and from 1975 marriage certificates for the entire city, this article describes the extent of family formation in the U.S. and patterns of marital selectivity of recent Hispanic immigrants residing in New York City. A core goal of the analysis is the provision of indicators of the extent of and nature of integration processes at an early stage of the immigration." It is found first that "Hispanic immigrants in New York City are clearly long-term settlers, although not necessarily permanent ones. They are forming nuclear families in this country to a considerably greater extent than they are either transferring families from the origin country or residing as unattached temporary migrants. Second, a significant minority of marriages contracted in this country are with spouses of different national origin groups, indicating an openness in ethnic boundaries in the host society context."

[The population of Surinamese and Antillean origin in the Netherlands, 1971-1986]. / La population originaire du Surinam et des Antilles neerlandaises aux Pays-Bas, 1971-1986.

PIP: Demographic characteristics of residents of the Netherlands who are of Surinamese or Antillean origin are examined using official data. The size of these migrant groups, age and sex distribution, fertility, mortality, nuptiality, and international migration rates are discussed for the period 1971-1986. Comparisons are made with demographic indicators for the total population of the Netherlands. (SUMMARY IN ENG)^ieng

[Problems in the measurement of internal migration]. / Problemas de la medicion de la migracion interna.

"The paper analyzes some problems related to the census measurement of internal migration according to the three following aspects: The lack of agreement between the proposed objectives and the type of question made; questionnaire design errors and enumeration errors; and inadequate data elaboration." The geographic focus is on Latin America. Problems concerning data on place of birth or place of previous residence and how these can affect the calculation of migration trends are considered. (SUMMARY IN ENG)

[Some notes concerning the possible impact of European in-migration on fertility in Argentina]. / Notas respecto a la posible influencia de la inmigracion europea sobre la fecundidad de la Argentina.

PIP: The author examines two factors that may have influenced Argentine fertility: the predominance of young, economically active men among the Europeans immigrating to Argentina and the low fertility norms of the European countries from which the immigrants come. She also touches on the methodological problem of determining whether, in mixed marriages, fertility should be called native or alien. The period covered is 1895 to 1947^ieng

Breastfeeding and use of the health care system in Bahia State, Brazil: three multivariate analyses.

Three multivariate methods--deviation from total proportion breastfeeding, polynomial regression, and proportional hazards--are used on current status breastfeeding data to explain an inverse relationship between use of the health care system and breastfeeding in Bahia State, Brazil. Among the intervening variables analyzed--urban/rural residence, educational attainment, age of woman, and place of last live birth--education and place of last live birth are found to have a net effect on breastfeeding by all three methods of analysis. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are described.

PIP: The health care system in northeastern Brazil (Bahia State) should be encouraging breast feeding, but data suggest that women who use the system breast feed for a shorter time than those who do not use the system. The question posed in the multivariate analysis is whether this relationship is due to the association between the use of health care and socioeconomic status, residence, or demographic characteristics. 3 multivariate methods--deviation from total proportion breast feeding, polynomic regression, and proportional hazards--are compared. Data were obtained as part of the 1980 Northeastern Brazil Survey of Maternal-Child Health and Family Planning. The survey was a statewide sample of households with 1 woman of childbearing age (15-44) selected/household. Interviews were obtained with 2091 women. All had births 1-24 months before the interview. Measures of the entent and duration of breast feeding for selected variables are given, as are zero-order correlation coefficients for the polynomial regression method with current breast feeding status as a dependent variable. The proportion of women who are currently breast feeding is given by 2 regression methods, as is the net effects on the proportion currently breast feeding. Estimated coefficients for the proportional hazards method are also given, as is the relative risk of weaning in the same multivariate analysis model. The results of the comparisons made suggest that, of variables considered--educational status, urban/rural residence, age, and place of last live birth--only education and place of last live birth are found to have a net effect on breast feeding.

Anthropometric measurements and Darwinian fitness.

PIP: The relationship between anthropometrics and 3 measures of Darwinian fitness--number of surviving children, number of living siblings, and marital status--was sought in a population practicing no contraception. The pattern suggestive of stabilizing selection was evident for 1 dimension, destabilizing selection for another dimension, and directional selection for yet another. The dimensions studied were those least intercorrelated one with another. Stabilizing selection for human physical characteristics may not be a universal phenomenon.^ieng

Inbreeding and immigration in urban and rural zones of Chile, with an endogamy index.

PIP: In order to establish relationships among immigration, inbreeding, and age at marriage in urban and rural zones in Chile, and to formulate an endogamy index, ecclesiastical and civil data on consanguinity from 1865-1914 were analyzed, and a random mating deviation index was developed, with resulting values indicating deviation toward endogamy in both zones. Data grouped by zones and decades include means of population and density, nuptiality, consanguineous marriages (number, types, frequencies, and inbreeding coefficients), and frequencies of immigrants among consanguineous and nonconsanguineous couples. All of these values differ markedly between zones, with values in the rural zone double those in the urban zone. In the 2 zones, there are no clear differences in age at marriage between consanguineous and nonconsanguineous couples, and this is an important finding. From the point of view of fertility, one can expect a similar length period of fertility for both groups of couples. In this case, lower fertility might be expected in consanguineous marriages, only because of a higher probability of homozygosis of deleterious genes.^ieng