Effect of unexpected demolition announcement on health of residents.

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Abstract
OBJECTIVE--To examine the impact of an unexpected announcement of the demolition of a housing estate on the health of the area's residents. DESIGN--Study of general practitioner consultation rates of the estate's residents after the announcement compared with those of other areas and with those of the previous year. SETTING--General practices in Runcorn, Cheshire. PATIENTS--17,000 patients on lists of the two group practices serving the estate and surrounding area. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE--Relative weekly consultation rates with general practitioners. RESULTS--The mean adjusted odds ratio for consultation was 1.12 (SD 0.12) when demolition was expected and 0.877 (0.05) when it was not (t = 5.94, p less than 0.001). The difference remained after the adjustment for the fall in the estate's population was removed (t = 3.7, p less than 0.01). CONCLUSION--Announcement of the estate's demolition adversely affected residents' health.

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