# Housing type and risk of depression – the mediating effects of perceived indoor annoyances and loneliness: a Danish cohort study, 2000–2018

## TL;DR

This study found that people living in certain housing types, like rented apartments, have a higher risk of depression, partly due to indoor annoyances and loneliness.

## Contribution

The study quantifies how perceived indoor annoyances and loneliness mediate the link between housing type and depression.

## Key findings

- Rented apartments and terrace houses were linked to higher depression rates compared to owner-occupied detached homes.
- Perceived indoor annoyances and loneliness partially explained the increased depression risk in certain housing types.
- The mediation effect was stronger for rented apartments than for rented terrace houses.

## Abstract

Few studies have found that housing types and tenure might be associated with decreased mental health. Therefore, the aim was to investigate the association between housing type and the development of incident depression. Furthermore, quantifying the mediated effects through perceived indoor annoyances and perceived loneliness for the association between housing type and depression.

In this cohort study, we followed 14,387 individuals. Data on depression, housing type, perceived indoor annoyances, perceived loneliness and several covariates were obtained from the Danish National Patient Register, the Danish National Prescription Registry, the Building and Housing Register, and the Danish Health and Morbidity Survey. The association between housing type and depression was estimated by using a generalised linear model with Poisson distribution of the number of incident depressions and a logarithmic transformation of risk time as offset. Causal mediation analysis estimated the total effect mediated by perceived indoor annoyances and perceived loneliness.

Individuals living in owned terrace houses, rented terrace houses, and rented apartments had a significantly higher incidence rate (IR) of depression compared to individuals in owner-occupied detached houses. Living in a rented apartment compared to owning a detached house was associated with an adjusted IRR for depression of 1.32 (95% CI 1.14, 1.53). Of this association, 11% could be attributed to perceived indoor annoyances and 8% to perceived loneliness. For individuals living in rented terrace houses compared to owner-occupied detached houses, perceived indoor annoyances mediated 6% of the association between housing type and depression.

Individuals living in certain housing types had a significantly higher IR of depression compared to individuals in owner-occupied detached houses. Our findings suggest that some of the excessed depression incidents among individuals living in rented apartments and rented terrace houses compared to detached houses could be attributed to differences in the number of perceived indoor annoyances and perceived loneliness. However, future studies are needed to confirm the findings of the present study and address other pathways and possible causations.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-025-22473-1.