Is the Housing Crisis Making People Sick? - The foreclosure crisis may be making Americans sick.
A study published online yesterday in the American Journal of Public Health surveyed nearly 2,500 homeowners over the age of 50 who were asked if they had fallen more than two months behind on their mortgage payments since 2006.
Of those who had, 22% developed depressive symptoms over the next two years, compared to only 3% of those who weren’t delinquent. Twenty-eight percent reported food insecurity — meaning they were hungry or did not have adequate access to food in their households — compared to 4% for those who weren’t behind on their payments.
And about a third said they were not taking medications properly due to cost, compared to 5% of those who weren’t delinquent.
“For an older person with chronic conditions like diabetes or hypertension, the types of health problems we saw are short-term consequences of falling behind on a mortgage that could have long-run implications for that person’s health,” said the study’s principal investigator, Dawn E. Alley, assistant professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
The WSJ covered a previous study showing a link between communities with high foreclosure rates and increases in emergency-room visits.
But the latest study follows individuals over time — 2006 to 2008—and its findings portend poorly for Americans’ health if the housing crisis continues. In fact, researchers paint an even bleaker picture now because rising mortgage defaults have been accompanied by high unemployment. Still, the study can’t definitively show that delinquency led to health problems; underlying conditions might have produced a difficulty in making payments as well as depression. ( wsj.com )
A study published online yesterday in the American Journal of Public Health surveyed nearly 2,500 homeowners over the age of 50 who were asked if they had fallen more than two months behind on their mortgage payments since 2006.
Of those who had, 22% developed depressive symptoms over the next two years, compared to only 3% of those who weren’t delinquent. Twenty-eight percent reported food insecurity — meaning they were hungry or did not have adequate access to food in their households — compared to 4% for those who weren’t behind on their payments.
And about a third said they were not taking medications properly due to cost, compared to 5% of those who weren’t delinquent.
“For an older person with chronic conditions like diabetes or hypertension, the types of health problems we saw are short-term consequences of falling behind on a mortgage that could have long-run implications for that person’s health,” said the study’s principal investigator, Dawn E. Alley, assistant professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
The WSJ covered a previous study showing a link between communities with high foreclosure rates and increases in emergency-room visits.
But the latest study follows individuals over time — 2006 to 2008—and its findings portend poorly for Americans’ health if the housing crisis continues. In fact, researchers paint an even bleaker picture now because rising mortgage defaults have been accompanied by high unemployment. Still, the study can’t definitively show that delinquency led to health problems; underlying conditions might have produced a difficulty in making payments as well as depression. ( wsj.com )
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