@article {7659, title = {Mortgage delinquency and changes in access to health resources and depressive symptoms in a nationally representative cohort of Americans older than 50 years.}, journal = {Am J Public Health}, volume = {101}, year = {2011}, month = {2011 Dec}, pages = {2293-8}, publisher = {101}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated associations between mortgage delinquency and changes in health and health-relevant resources over 2 years, with data from the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal survey representative of US adults older than 50 years.

METHODS: In 2008, participants reported whether they had fallen behind on mortgage payments since 2006 (n = 2474). We used logistic regression to compare changes in health (incidence of elevated depressive symptoms, major declines in self-rated health) and access to health-relevant resources (food, prescription medications) between participants who fell behind on their mortgage payments and those who did not.

RESULTS: Compared with nondelinquent participants, the mortgage-delinquent group had worse health status and less access to health-relevant resources at baseline. They were also significantly more likely to develop incident depressive symptoms (odds ratio [OR] = 8.60; 95\% confidence interval [CI] = 3.38, 21.85), food insecurity (OR = 7.53; 95\% CI = 3.01, 18.84), and cost-related medication nonadherence (OR = 8.66; 95\% CI = 3.72, 20.16) during follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS: Mortgage delinquency was associated with significant elevations in the incidence of mental health impairments and health-relevant material disadvantage. Widespread mortgage default may have important public health implications.

}, keywords = {depression, Drug Costs, Economic Recession, Female, Health Services Accessibility, Health Status, Housing, Humans, Male, Medication Adherence, Middle Aged, Socioeconomic factors, Stress, Psychological, United States}, issn = {1541-0048}, doi = {10.2105/AJPH.2011.300245}, author = {Dawn E Alley and Jennifer Lloyd and Jos{\'e} A Pag{\'a}n and Craig E Pollack and Michelle Shardell and Carolyn Cannuscio} }