A full 36.7% of homeowners in foreclosure meet the screening criteria for major depression, according to a new study released today in the American Journal of Public Health. A further 10.2% suffer from minor depression, the study finds.
The result comes from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, who surveyed 250 Philadelphia residents in the midst of foreclosure to study the impact of foreclosure on health — and the impact of health on foreclosure. Some of the links were surprising. In addition to their shocking rates of depression, people losing their homes were also more likely than residents of the same race and income to suffer from hypertension and from heart disease. More than one fifth had no medical insurance at all (22%, compared to 8.2% in the community at large), and more than one quarter owed money to medical creditors. While most people said they were in foreclosure mainly because of job loss, 8.6% said the main reason was, to begin with, a medical condition or medical expenses.
