RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Great Recession and Immune Function
JF RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
FD Russell Sage Foundation
SP 62
OP 81
DO 10.7758/RSF.2018.4.4.04
VO 4
IS 4
A1 McClure, Elizabeth
A1 Feinstein, Lydia
A1 Ferrando-Martínez, Sara
A1 Leal, Manuel
A1 Galea, Sandro
A1 Aiello, Allison E.
YR 2018
UL http://www.rsfjournal.org/content/4/4/62.abstract
AB The Great Recession precipitated unprecedented home foreclosures increases, but documentation of related neighborhood changes and population health is scant. Using the Detroit Neighborhood Health Study (N = 277), we examined associations between neighborhood-level recession indicators and thymic function, a life course immunological health indicator. In covariate-adjusted multilevel models, each 10 percentage point increase in abandoned home prevalence and 1 percentage point increase in 2009 home foreclosures was associated with 1.7-year and 3.3-year increases in thymic aging, respectively. Associations attenuated after adjustment for neighborhood-level social cohesion, suggesting community ties may buffer recession-related immune aging. Effects of neighborhood stressors were strongest in middle-income households, supporting theory of excess vulnerability in this group. Future research should assess whether ongoing foreclosure and blight reduction efforts improve health for residents of recession impacted neighborhoods.