Background: Prior to the housing crisis in 2008, research had seldom been conducted on the effects of housing foreclosures on health outcomes. Even though national housing markets have somewhat recovered from the 2008 recession, mortgage loan borrowers across the U.S. remain adversely impacted by the foreclosure crisis. Objectives: The purpose of this research is to evaluate the relationship between foreclosure rates and mental and physical health outcomes, at the U.S. state-level, over a period of seventeen years (2000-2016). This study expects that all the seven health variables in question will share a significant positive relationship with foreclosure.
Methods: In this study (N=816), panel regression analysis, using a fixed effects model, is used to analyze the relationship between the two economic variables and seven health variables in question. Results: A significant positive relationship exists between foreclosure and the following health outcomes: major depressive disorder (0.35*** p < 0.001, CI = 0.26 — 0.43), nutritional deficiencies (3.80*** p < 0.001, CI = 3.04 — 4.57), and self-harm and interpersonal violence (0.71*** p < 0.001, CI = 0.55 — 0.86). The health outcomes shown to share a statistically significant negative correlation between foreclosure include: anxiety disorders (0.52*** p < 0.001, CI = -0.60 — -0.44), alcohol use disorders (0.41*** p < 0.001, CI = -0.57 — -0.25), and drug use disorders (0.24*** P = 0.001, CI = -0.39 — -0.10). No significant relationship was elucidated between foreclosure and hypertensive heart disease. Conclusion: Although significant relationships were uncovered between foreclosure and rates of major depressive disorder, nutritional deficiencies, and self-harm and interpersonal violence, more research is required to further evaluate the relationship between economic outcomes and health outcomes. Specifically, more research is necessary to unveil the relationships between foreclosure and the health outcomes: anxiety disorders, drug use disorders, alcohol use disorders, and hypertensive heart disease.
Keywords: foreclosure, health, unemployment, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, nutritional deficiencies, self-harm and interpersonal violence, drug use disorder, alcohol use disorder, hypertensive heart disease
Interpersonal violence: Serious sequelae for heart disease in women
