Migrant Studies

Migrant studies are an extension of the ecologic study design, which compares disease rates in different locations. In migrant studies, the disease rate among persons who have migrated from one location to another is compared with the disease rate in persons who did not migrate. Ideally, the rate for migrants is compared both with persons remaining in the country of origin and with lifelong residents of the destination or host country. Migrants share their genetic makeup and early life environment with persons remaining in the country of origin. They share recent environmental exposures with residents of the host country. Thus, the comparison of disease rates between the migrants and the nonmigrating populations is used to generate hypotheses about the relative importance of genetics and environment ...