People who are facing eviction from their homes are up to 13 times more likely to suffer noticeably poorer health, a new study has found.

Spanish researchers set out to assess the impact that eviction can have on physical and mental health. They monitored the progress of 205 people who were currently undergoing eviction proceedings.

They found that those who were facing eviction had much poorer health than the general population, whether they were being evicted from a rented or owned property.

Those facing an eviction from their own mortgaged home were 13 times more likely to suffer with poor overall physical health. They were three times more likely to suffer with heart disease, and among smokers, the use of tobacco products almost doubled.

Those facing eviction from mortgaged properties were also more likely to suffer with anxiety, depression and other mental health problems.

Overall, women who were being evicted appeared to suffer poorer physical and mental health than men who were being evicted.

The researchers called for more research in this area given the impact that housing issues appear to have on health.

Details of these findings are published in Gaceta Sanitaria, a journal of the Spanish Society of Public Health and Health administration.