Importance

Eviction is a marker of housing instability that is prevalent in metropolitan areas with expensive housing markets. Little is known about the impact of housing insecurity on the burden of substance-use related mortality.

Objective

To assess the relationship between evictions and drug overdose-related deaths by geographic unit in Los Angeles County (LAC).

Methods

This ecologic study used eviction rates from 2011, drug overdose-related death from 2011 to 2017, and other sociodemographic variables. Data were aggregated as composite population-rates into 438 hexagonal spatial units across LAC, each with its associated sociodemographic variables, eviction rates, and drug overdose death rates. Analyses were performed using negative binomial regressions.

Results

Eviction rates was not an independent predictor of overdose deaths in LAC.

Conclusions and Relevance

Evection rates was not an independent predictor of overdose deaths in LAC. This likely reflects similar relationships between socioeconomic factors and exposure and outcome of interest. More research is needed to assess the relationship between housing instability and drug overdose mortality in LAC.