… from The Washington Post

It’s official: The economy is bad for your health.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine questioned 250 homeowners going through foreclosure and found that 47 percent showed symptoms of depression, with 37 percent exhibiting signs of major depression. The rate was especially high considering previous research showed that only about 12.8 percent of people living in poverty were depressed, the study found.

“Although the health status of homeowners has traditionally tended to be better than that of renters, the financial and emotional stress of foreclosure may undermine the potential benefits of homeownership,” said the study, which will appear in the October edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

Borrowers facing foreclosure were more likely to forgo filling prescriptions, and nearly 60 percent reported that they had skipped or delayed meals, according to the study. “We’ve barely begun to think about the health consequences of the foreclosure crisis,” Pollack said.