Foreclosed property can have serious impact on neighbors' blood pressure, a new study shows.
Researchers examined data of 1,740 participants (mostly white, 53 percent women) in 1987-2008 in the Framingham (Massachusetts) Offspring Cohort, which is a part of the Framingham Heart Study.
The researchers distinguished between real-estate-owned foreclosures, which are owned by lenders and normally are vacant, and foreclosures purchased by third-party buyers.
The study findings showed that each additional foreclosed property within 100 meters of individuals' homes was linked to an average increase of 1.71 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading).
This was only found in the properties that were real-estate owned and there was no effect from foreclosed properties more than 100 meters from participants' homes.
Researchers stated that other risk factors include genetics, advanced age, poor nutrition and excessive body weight and alcohol consumption. Furthermore, stress and other factors might also lead to high blood pressure.
"The increases in blood pressure observed could be due in part to unhealthy stress from residents' perception that their own properties are less valuable, their streets less attractive or safe and their neighbourhoods less stable," Mariana Arcaya, Yerby post-doctoral research fellow at Harvard Centre for Population and Development Studies in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said in a press release.
With the recent housing crisis in The united States and a limping recovery, healthcare providers should take note of this factor too. "Healthcare providers, particularly those serving neighborhoods still recovering from the recent housing crisis, should be aware of foreclosure activity as a possible source of unhealthy stress for residents," Arcaya said.
The study is published in American Heart Association's journal 'Circulation.'
