Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35767014›Full record

ArticleSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2023

Trajectories of housing affordability and mental health problems: a population-based cohort study.

Kate Dotsikas, David Osborn, Kate Walters, Jennifer Dykxhoorn

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. The Dynamic Relationship Between Objective and Subjective Housing Affordability and Mental Health.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Kate DotsikasDivision of Psychiatry, University College London, London, W1T 7NF, UK. kge.dotsikas@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5023-5201
David OsbornDivision of Psychiatry, University College London, London, W1T 7NF, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2519-1539
Kate WaltersDepartment of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2173-2430
Jennifer DykxhoornDivision of Psychiatry, University College London, London, W1T 7NF, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6391-8626

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeWith housing costs increasing faster than incomes and a limited supply of social housing options, many households face unaffordable housing. Housing affordability problems may negatively impact mental health; however, longitudinal evidence is limited. This study investigates the association between trajectories of housing affordability problems and mental health.

methodsWe used data from 30,025 households from Understanding Society, a longitudinal household survey from the UK. Participants spending 30% or more of household income on housing were categorised as facing housing affordability problems. We estimated group-based trajectories of housing affordability problems from 9 waves of data (2009-2019). We used linear regression to calculate the association between the trajectories and mental health problems, as measured by General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) score in Wave 10 (2018-2020).

resultsWe found six distinct trajectories of housing affordability problems. Those in the 'stable low' group had a consistently low probability of affordability problems, whilst those in 'high falling' group had a sustained high probability in the earlier waves of the study, subsequently decreasing over time. The adjusted analysis showed that trajectory group membership over the first nine waves of data predicted GHQ score in 2018-2020 (Wave 10). Compared to the 'stable low' group, those in the 'high falling' group had a GHQ score that was 1.06 (95% CI 0.53-1.58) points higher.

conclusionThis study provides evidence that sustained exposure to housing affordability problems is associated with long-term worse mental health, even in the absence of more recent problems.

Indexed as

HousingMental HealthCohort StudiesCosts and Cost AnalysisHumansIncomeCohort studyGeneral Health Questionnaire-12Group-based trajectory modellingHousing affordabilityUK

Identifiers

PMID35767014
PMCPMC10097755

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.