Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare Utilization and Mortality by Neighborhood Poverty among Individuals with Congenital Heart Defects, four U.S. Surveillance Sites, 2011-2013

BACKGROUNDSocioeconomic factors may lead to a disproportionate impact on healthcare utilization and mortality among individuals with congenital heart defects (CHD) by race, ethnicity, and socio-economic factors. How neighborhood poverty affects racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare utilization and mortality among individuals with CHD across the lifespan is not well described. METHODSIndividuals, 1-64 years, with at least one CHD-related ICD-9-CM code were identified from healthcare encounters between 01/01/2011-12/31/2013 from four U.S. sites. Residence was classified into lower or higher poverty neighborhoods based on ZCTA from the 2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Multivariable logistic regression models, adjusting for site, sex, CHD anatomic severity, and insurance evaluated associations between race and ethnicity, and healthcare utilization and mortality, stratified by neighborhood poverty. RESULTSOf 31,542 individuals, 22.2% were non-Hispanic Black (nHB) and 17.0% Hispanic. In high poverty neighborhoods, nHB (44.4%) and Hispanic (47.7%) individuals, respectively, were more likely to be hospitalized (aOR)=1.2 [95%CI=1.0-1.3] and aOR=1.3 [95%CI=1.2-1.5]) and have ED visits (aOR=1.3 [95%CI=1.2-1.5] and aOR=1.7 [95%CI=1.5-2.0]) compared to non-Hispanic White (nHW) individuals. In high poverty neighborhoods, nHB individuals with CHD had 1.7 times the odds of mortality compared to nHW individuals in high poverty neighborhoods (95%CI=1.1-2.7). Racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare utilization were similar in low poverty neighborhoods, but disparities in mortality were attenuated (aOR for nHB=1.2 [95%CI=0.9-1.7]). CONCLUSIONSRacial and ethnic disparities in healthcare utilization were found among individuals with CHD in low and high poverty neighborhoods, but mortality disparities were larger in high poverty neighborhoods. Understanding individual- and community-level social determinants of health, including access to healthcare, may help address racial and ethnic inequities in healthcare utilization and mortality among individuals with CHD.