This study aims to examine differences between gender and country of origin with regard to tobacco use and alcohol consumption in Armenian immigrants (AI) residing in Los Angeles County, California, and the relationship to the prevalence of depression, social support (SS) and acute and chronic illness.
Secondary analysis of data from 432 AI residing in Los Angeles. A 109-item questionnaire was used to capture alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking and the mental and physical health variables. Data were analyzed using SAS 9.4. Health outcomes were defined from a list of both acute and chronic illnesses, self-reported by participants.
Country of origin was significantly associated with alcohol consumption and number of cigarettes smoked daily for men. Women were less likely to report use of tobacco or alcohol, except for women from Lebanon, who reported a higher number of cigarettes smoked. For participants, smoking was significantly associated with depression and acute illness, and inversely with SS. Moderate drinking was inversely related to chronic illness. Additionally, the total number of close friends as an SS system was inversely related to currently having a chronic or acute illness.
Tobacco cessation programs in the USA should focus efforts on immigrants from countries with high levels of tobacco use, as immigrants tend to continue this behavior. This could be efficacious when directed to immigrants whose home countries have no or little tobacco control programs. There is also a need for an intervention strategy using SS along with tobacco cessation programs to deal with both depression and harmful effects of smoking on health regarding increased prevalence of acute illnesses.
Immigrants often bring behaviors with them from their home countries which should be explored and addressed in health screenings.
In addition to the implications noted in the discussion section, it is important to remember that smoking is both a group and individual phenomenon. Smoking was associated with immigrants experiencing depression. As Poonia (2009) recommends, we need to consider the cultural context of smoking in the countries of origin and the potentially stressful acculturation process experienced in the host countries. Implementing health promotion measures within the social networks of the immigrants and involving important community representatives may help to bring about both a decrease in smoking immigrant smoking behaviors, as well as help to alleviate experiences of depression.
This study reported on findings from a study of AI in Los Angeles County, recruited from community sites. It is not a clinical population but a community sample of immigrants from various countries, all of whom have settled in Los Angeles.
