SOCIAL EPIDEMIOLOGY Differences in mortality by immigrant status in Italy. Results of the Italian Network of Longitudinal Metropolitan Studies Barbara Pacelli 1 • Nicola´s Zengarini 2 • Serena Broccoli 3,4 • Nicola Caranci 1 • Teresa Spadea 2 • Chiara Di Girolamo 5,6 • Laura Cacciani 7 • Alessio Petrelli 8 • Paola Ballotari 3,4 • Laura Cestari 9 • Laura Grisotto 10 • Paolo Giorgi Rossi 3,4 • The IN-LiMeS Group Received: 14 June 2016 / Accepted: 16 June 2016 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016 Abstract Despite a rapid increase in immigration from low-income countries, studies on immigrants’ mortality in Italy are scarce. We aimed to describe differences in all and cause-specific mortality among immigrants and Italians residing in Turin and Reggio Emilia (Northern Italy), two cities participating in the Italian Network of Longitudinal Metropolitan Studies (IN-LiMeS). We used individual data from the municipal population registers linked to the cause of death registers. All people aged 1–64 years residing between 2001 and 2010 were enrolled (open cohort) and followed up until 2013. The mortality of citizens from high migratory pressure countries (as a whole, and for each macro-area group) was compared with that of Italians; differences were estimated by Poisson regression adjusted by age and calendar year mortality rate ratios (MRRs), and by age-standardized mortality ratios for the analysis of cause-specific mortality. Compared with Italians, immi- grants had lower overall mortality (MRR for men: 0.82, 95 % CI: 0.75–0.90; for women: 0.71, 95 % CI: 0.63–0.81). Sub-Saharan Africans experienced a significant higher mortality than Italians (MRR for men 1.29, 95 % CI: 1.03–1.61; for women: 1.70, 95 % CI: 1.22–2.36). Higher mortality for immigrants compared to Italians was observed for infectious diseases, congenital anomalies, some site-specific tumours and homicide mortality. Our study showed heterogeneity in mortality across the macro- areas of origin, and in particular Sub-Saharan Africans seemed to be a vulnerable population. The extension to other cohorts of IN-LiMeS will allow the health status of immigrants and vulnerable groups to be studied and mon- itored in more depth. Keywords Immigrants Á Mortality Á Cause of death Á Italy Á Open cohort Abbreviations AIDS Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome HMPC High migratory pressure countries HDC Highly developed countries ICD International classification of diseases Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10654-016-0177-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. & Barbara Pacelli barbara.pacelli@regione.emilia-romagna.it 1 Regional Health and Social Care Agency of Emilia- Romagna, via A. Moro 21, Bologna 40127, Italy 2 Epidemiology Unit, ASL TO3 Piedmont Region, Grugliasco, TO, Italy 3 Epidemiology Unit, Azienda Unita` Sanitaria Locale, Reggio Emilia, Italy 4 Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico-IRCCS, Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova, Reggio Emilia, Italy 5 Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy 6 Cancer Survival Group, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK 7 Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Regional Health Service, Rome, Italy 8 National Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty (INMP), Rome, Italy 9 Laboratory of Public Health and Population Studies, Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, Padua, Italy 10 Department of Statistics, Computer Science, Applications, University of Florence, Florence, Italy 123 Eur J Epidemiol DOI 10.1007/s10654-016-0177-z