A third of deaths worldwide and one-fourth of deaths in the United States were caused by cardiovascular (CV) disease. Results of CVs from earlier studies that looked at the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and CV outcomes were inconsistent. For a study, researchers sought to evaluate the strength of the association between classified median household income, a marker for SES, and nonfatal or fatal acute myocardial infarction (AMI) using a large-scale database. Using logistic regression models, zip code median household income data from the US Census Bureau were matched to 1-year hospital readmission rates for AMI and CV death. The Myocardial Infarction Data Acquisition System, a comprehensive database covering all patient CV disease admissions to acute care New Jersey hospitals, was used to collect patient outcomes. The main findings show that patients in the lowest income group (<$43,000) had a significantly higher risk of AMI readmission (adjusted odds ratio 1.1388, 95% CI 1.0905 to 1.1893, P=0). CV death (odds ratio 1.0479, 95% confidence interval 1.0058 to 1.0917, P=0.0254) after a year compared to those in the highest household income level (>$68,000). The study also discovered that the likelihood of an AMI readmission rose as household income levels fell. The data implied that healthcare professionals and policymakers should provide greater resources to low-income communities to lessen disparities in AMI hospital readmissions and AMI case fatalities.
Source – ajconline.org/article/S0002-9149(22)00351-4/fulltext
