Evictions and short-term all-cause mortality: a 3-year follow-up study of a middle-aged Swedish population

Abstract

Objectives This study sets out to explore whether being forcibly removed from one’s home is related to all-cause mortality. Methods With the help of unique register data covering all middle-aged persons registered at the Swedish Enforcement Authority with a case closed by an eviction during the period 2009–2011 (n = 2092), evictees’ deaths from any cause that occurred within 3 years of the date of the eviction are compared with the all-cause mortality of a random sample of the Swedish population (n = 426,117). The analysis is based on penalized maximum likelihood logistic regressions. Results Those who had been evicted from their homes were found to be approximately one and a half times more likely to die from any cause than those who had not been exposed to this experience (OR = 1.59), controlling for several demographic, socio-economic and health conditions prior to the date of the eviction. Conclusions The results provide support for the notion that the experience of losing one’s dwelling place should be treated as a major life event in its own right, just like other well-established social stressors.