Immigration Transition and Cognitive Symptoms During Menopausal Transition.
Eun-Ok Im, Young Ko, Yaelim Lee and 2 others
PMID 31267827WHAT IT FOUND
Midlife women who were not immigrants reported more and more severe cognitive symptoms than immigrant women.
Race/ethnicity, income, access to care, social support, weight and menopausal status were also associated.
Key findings
01Compared with immigrants, non-immigrants had larger numbers (t = 3.87, p < .001) and higher severity scores (t = 4.24, p < .001) of total cognitive symptoms.
02Immigration status explained 1.28% of the variance in total numbers of symptoms and 1.46% of the variance in total severity scores.
03In the final model for total symptom numbers, racial/ethnic identity, unemployment, family income, access to health care, social support, obesity and menopausal status were significantly related.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used existing survey data and did not test an intervention, so it can show associations but not cause and effect. Cognitive symptoms were self-reported and were not validated by clinicians, so they may not reflect objectively measured cognitive impairment. Participants were English-literate volunteers recruited through Internet groups, which may not represent women without English literacy or Internet access. Only first and 1.5 generation immigrants were counted as immigrants, so second and third generation immigrant women were not included. Acculturation was measured with five items, which may not fully capture immigration transition in daily life. The analysis included only women who reported at least one cognitive symptom, so it does not describe symptom patterns in women who reported none.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The article is labelled as supported by NIH extramural research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that immigration transition causes fewer cognitive symptoms or that non-immigrants have cognitive impairment. The symptoms were self-reported, not validated by clinicians, and the design cannot show cause.