Citizenship Status and the Prevalence, Treatment, and Control of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among Adults in the United States, 2011-2016

Abstract

The adult immigrant population has doubled from in 1990 to 42 million in 2017, accounting for 17% of all US adults. ever, noncitizens, which account for half of immigrants, approximately 1 encounter signif 19 million 1 How- cant barriers to healthcare access.2 For example, noncitizens without documentation are ineligible for publicly funded health insurance, as are many documented noncitizens-their eligibility depends on their specifc visa status.2 Noncitizens also disproportionately face structural factors, such as poverty and residence in underserved communities, that adversely impact health and healthcare access regardless of cultural or racial/ethnic background.1,3 Therefore, citizenship status-categorized as US-born citizen, foreign-born citizen, and noncitizen-may contribute to disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among immigrants.