摘要：Objectives. We examined the impact of the dramatic increases in housing prices in the United States in the 1990s and early 2000s on physical health outcomes among a representative sample of middle-aged and older Americans. Methods. Using a quasi-experimental design, we exploited geographic and time variation in housing prices using third-party valuation estimates of median single-family detached houses from 1988 to 2007 in each of 2400 zip codes combined with Health and Retirement Study data from 1992 to 2006 to test the impact of housing appreciation on physical health outcomes. Results. Respondents living in communities in which home values appreciated more rapidly had fewer functional limitations, performed better on interviewer-administered physical tasks, and had smaller waist circumference. Conclusions. Our results indicate that increases in housing wealth were associated with better health outcomes for homeowners in late middle age and older. The recent sharp decline in housing values for this group may likewise be expected to have important implications for health and should be examined as data become available. The boom and bust in US housing markets over the past decade has been unusual in size and scope. 1 These price fluctuations may have important health impacts, especially for homeowners around retirement age. By the early 1990s, more than 80% of Americans who came of age in the aggressively pro–homeownership policy environment of the midcentury lived in owner-occupied homes. 2 These Americans will be relying on their wealth to support them in retirement; for many of them, housing equity represents the largest and most important component of their wealth portfolio. 3 We explored the health impacts of housing price increases during the 1990s and early 2000s on middle-aged and older US adults using a quasi-experimental empirical strategy that takes advantage of geographic differences in housing market price trends. The real value of houses increased during this period for the vast majority of our sample, translating directly into wealth accumulation for these homeowners just as they were approaching retirement age. Housing bubbles nationwide began imploding about a year after the end of our follow-up period. 4 Predicting a priori whether changes in housing wealth would have any significant impact on health or well-being is difficult. On one hand, rising housing wealth might be inconsequential to consumption and welfare if homeowners cannot easily access that wealth. 5 On the other hand, housing wealth accumulated by late middle age may occupy a special place in homeowners’ wealth portfolios, serving as an important buffer against negative economic shocks later in life 3,6,7 Even for homeowners who are not intending to sell their houses soon, rates of appreciation can still influence economic prospects 8,9 —and, in turn, health and well-being. Important unanswered empirical questions remain about the health impacts of changes in housing wealth.
