Foreclosures and weight gain: Differential associations by longer neighborhood exposure

While home foreclosure can lead to mental and physical health declines in persons experiencing the foreclosure, whether neighborhood foreclosures can affect the health of other residents is debatable. Using a racially/ethnically diverse sample of Chicago metropolitan area residents linked to foreclosure data from 2008 to 2014, we assessed whether exposure to neighborhood foreclosure fillings was associated with changes in objectively measured body mass index (BMI) over time. Using a retrospective longitudinal design, we employed fixed-effects regression models that controlled for individual- and neighborhood-level covariates to test the association of neighborhood foreclosures and BMI in >60,000 individuals and for individuals who did not move during the follow-up period. We also adjusted for the non-linear association of age and BMI and comorbidities and employed a series of sensitivity analysis to test for robustness. In fully adjusted models, a standard-deviation increase in neighborhood foreclosure filings within 500 m was associated with increases in BMI for individuals who did not move (nonmovers) (mean = 0.03 BMI units, 95% confidence interval: 0.01, 0.06). Neighborhood foreclosure rates were not associated with changes in BMI for the full sample. Given the potential deleterious effects of neighborhood foreclosure on individuals with longer exposure to the local vicinity, clarifying the potential health effects of neighborhood foreclosures would help policymakers when planning actions to prevent home losses, predatory home loans, and that aim to more efficiently return foreclosure properties to productive uses.