Migrant Cancer Mortality Advantage in Belgium? Results of a Nationwide Study in the 1990s and 2000s.
Hadewijch Vandenheede, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Katrien Vanthomme, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
This study wants to expand the knowledge on immigrant’s health by testing these epidemiological theories on a nationwide-scale. We will use nationwide individually-linked data of the Belgian censuses of 1991 and 2001 and register data on mortality and emigration for the 1990s and 2000s. The database is a unique source of information containing data on mortality, emigration, causes of death, and background characteristics of all individuals legally residing in Belgium at the time of the census. Firstly, we will probe into absolute and relative mortality differences between immigrants of different origins and the Belgian host population, for all major causes of death. Secondly, we will calculate these mortality differences both in the 1990s and 2000s to assess the trend over time. Thirdly, we will analyse whether these mortality differences can be explained by length of stay, migration generation, or socioeconomic position. Thirdly, we want to add the aspect of gender into the question.
Presented in Session 3: Ethnicity, Migration and Mortality