The Dynamics of Unhealthy Housing in the UK: A Panel Data Analysis

There is an abundance of evidence supporting a cross-sectional association between poor housing and poor health, but relatively few studies have examined the relationship between housing and health over time. Using contemporary longitudinal data from seven yearly waves (1996-2002) of the British Household Panel Survey, summary statistics and multivariate first-differences regression models, this study provides robust evidence of a dynamic relationship between housing conditions and health. Worsening housing conditions, measured in three domains, are independently associated with deterioration in health, especially the number of reported health problems in women. These findings add to the longitudinal evidence of the effect of housing conditions. It is concluded that improvements in housing conditions produce health benefits and the findings are important for proposed housing interventions to maximise health benefits and prioritise areas of housing investment.