Renters burdened by unaffordable housing costs may be at a higher risk of dying sooner, according to a new study published in the journal Social Science & Medicine.

An individual paying 50% of their income toward rent in 2000 was 9% more likely to die over the next 20 years compared with someone paying 30% of their income toward rent, according to the study from researchers at Princeton University and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Center for Economics Studies. Someone paying 70% of their income toward rent, meanwhile, was 12% more likely to die.

“We were surprised by the magnitude of the relationship between costs and mortality risk,” said Nick Graetz, a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University and the study’s lead author. “It’s an especially big problem when we consider how many people are affected by rising rents. This isn’t a rare occurrence.”

  • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Up next: “You can’t afford rent, therefore you’re at risk for premature death. So we’ll be increasing how much you pay for health insurance.”

  • query@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Of course. The more you have to spend on shelter, the less you have for everything else.

    Cuts should be made at the top, not the bottom. Always. If you have to raise your rents, no you don’t. You have spare properties, you’re doing fine.

    • MisterFrog@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Isn’t the the most depressing part of capitalism… Investment profits are more important to our society than preventing housing stress -_-

  • blinks6517@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Well if they’re going to die they’d better go ahead and do it and decrease the surplus population!

    Seems I read that somewhere before.

    • otp@sh.itjust.works
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      11 months ago

      I imagine there are already dozens.

      Just because something is obvious or intuitive doesn’t mean we don’t need science for it.

  • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Yep. Social murder of the poor, minorities, and especially of poor minorities is one of the main pillars of the fucked up system.

  • LufyCZ@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    This doesn’t sound like it is about rent prices, but more about the income of the individual.

    If you have more money, you can spend more on healthcare, higher quality food, …

    Of course if rent was cheaper people would have more money, but in absolute values (not %), I don’t think the study would see as much of a difference

  • Orionza@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Let’s give retirees $1000 a month in social security to live on while basic rent on a junky place is $2500 a month. Then let’s calculate that a 65 year old person may live to 85. 20 years. You got the funky result study above.