Neighborhood socioeconomic status and aortic stenosis: A Swedish study based on nationwide registries and an echocardiographic screening cohort.

BACKGROUND: Aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common valvular heart disease in developed countries, confers high mortality in advanced cases, but can effectively be reversed using endovascular or open-heart surgery. We evaluated the association between AS and neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES). METHODS: We used Swedish population-based nationwide registers and an echocardiography screening cohort during the study period 1997-2014. NSES was determined by an established neighborhood deprivation index composed of education, income, unemployment, and receipt of social welfare. Multilevel adjusted logistic regression models determined the association between NSES and incident AS (according to ICD-10 diagnostic codes). RESULTS: The study population of men and women (n=6,641,905) was divided into individuals living in high (n = 1,608,815 [24%]), moderate (n = 3,857,367 [58%]) and low (n = 1,175,723 [18%]) SES neighborhoods. There were 63,227 AS cases in total. Low NSES (versus high) was associated with a slightly increased risk of AS (OR 1.06 [95% CI 1.03-1.08]) in the nationwide study population. In the echocardiography screening cohort (n = 1586), the association between low NSES and AS was markedly stronger (OR: 2.73 [1.05-7.12]). There were more previously undiagnosed AS cases in low compared to high SES neighborhoods (3.1% versus 1.0%). CONCLUSIONS: In this nationwide Swedish register study, low NSES was associated with a slightly increased risk of incident AS. However, the association was markedly stronger in the echocardiography screening cohort, which revealed an almost three-fold increase of AS among individuals living in low SES neighborhoods, possibly indicating an underdiagnosis of AS among these individuals.

Neighborhood deprivation and lung cancer incidence and mortality: a multilevel analysis from Sweden.

BACKGROUND: Neighborhood deprivation has been implicated in lung cancer but no study has simultaneously analyzed the potential effect of neighborhood deprivation on both lung cancer incidence and mortality, after adjusting for individual-level socioeconomic factors, and comorbidities. The aim of this study was to analyze whether there is an association between neighborhood deprivation and incidence and mortality rates of lung cancer, beyond individual-level characteristics. DESIGN: The incident and mortality cases of lung cancer were determined in the entire Swedish population aged over 50 (3.2 million individuals) between 2000 and 2010. Multilevel logistic regression was used in the analysis with individual-level characteristics (age, marital status, family income, education, immigration status, urban/rural status, mobility, and comorbidities) at the first level and level of neighborhood deprivation at the second level. A neighborhood deprivation index, constructed from the variables education, income, unemployment, and welfare assistance, was used to assess the level of neighborhood deprivation. RESULTS: There was a strong association between level of neighborhood deprivation and incidence and mortality of lung cancer. In the fully adjusted model, the odds of lung cancer were 1.27 and 1.32, respectively, in the most deprived neighborhood. The between-neighborhood variance (i.e., the random intercept) was over 1.96 times the standard error in all models, indicating that there were significant differences in incidence and mortality rates of lung cancer between neighborhoods. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that neighborhood deprivation is associated with incident and mortality cases of lung cancer in Sweden, independently of individual-level characteristics.

Neighbourhood deprivation, individual-level familial and socio-demographic factors and diagnosed childhood obesity: a nationwide multilevel study from Sweden.

OBJECTIVES: To examine whether there is an association between neighbourhood deprivation and diagnosed childhood obesity, after accounting for family- and individual-level socio-demographic characteristics. METHODS: An open cohort of all children aged 0-14 years was followed between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2010. Childhood residential locations were geocoded and classified according to neighbourhood deprivation. Data were analysed by multilevel logistic regression, with family- and individual-level characteristics at the first level and level of neighbourhood deprivation at the second level. RESULTS: During the study period, among a total of 948,062 children, 10,799 were diagnosed with childhood obesity. Age-adjusted cumulative incidence for diagnosed childhood obesity increased with increasing level of neighbourhood deprivation. Incidence of diagnosed childhood obesity increased with increasing neighbourhood-level deprivation across all family and individual-level socio-demographic categories. The odds ratio (OR) for diagnosed childhood obesity for those living in high-deprivation neighbourhoods versus those living in low-deprivation neighbourhoods was 2.44 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.22-2.68). High neighbourhood deprivation remained significantly associated with higher odds of diagnosed childhood obesity after adjustment for family- and individual-level socio-demographic characteristics (OR = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.55-1.89). Age, middle level family income, maternal marital status, low level education, living in large cities, advanced paternal and maternal age, family history of obesity, parental history of diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, alcoholism and personal history of diabetes were all associated with higher odds of diagnosed childhood obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that neighbourhood characteristics affect the odds of diagnosed childhood obesity independently of family- and individual-level socio-demographic characteristics.

Neighborhood, family, and childhood and adolescent epilepsy: a nationwide epidemiological study from Sweden.

PURPOSE: To examine whether neighborhood deprivation increases the odds of hospital registration for childhood and adolescent epilepsy, after accounting for family- and individual-level sociodemographic characteristics. METHODS: An open cohort of all children aged 2-17 years was followed between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2010. Children's residential addresses were geocoded and classified according to neighborhood deprivation. Data were analyzed by multilevel logistic regression, with family- and individual-level characteristics at the first level and level of neighborhood deprivation at the second level. RESULTS: During the study period, among a total of 1,020,766 children, 9309 (0.9%) were registered with childhood and adolescent epilepsy. Age-adjusted cumulative hospital rates of childhood and adolescent epilepsy increased with increasing neighborhood-level deprivation across all family- and individual-level sociodemographic categories. The odds ratio (OR) for hospital registration for childhood and adolescent epilepsy for those living in high-deprivation neighborhoods versus those living in low-deprivation neighborhoods was 1.15. High level deprivation remained significantly associated with higher odds of childhood and adolescent epilepsy after adjustment for family- and individual-level sociodemographic characteristics (OR=1.12, 95% CI=1.04-1.21, p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that neighborhood characteristics modestly affect the odds of hospital registration for childhood and adolescent epilepsy independently of family- and individual-level sociodemographic characteristics.

Neighbourhood deprivation and hospitalization for atrial fibrillation in Sweden.

AIMS: Several cardiovascular disorders (CVDs) are strongly associated with socioeconomic disparities and neighbourhood deprivation. However, no study has determined whether neighbourhood deprivation is associated with atrial fibrillation (AF). We aimed to determine whether there is an association between neighbourhood deprivation and hospitalization for AF. METHODS AND RESULTS: The entire Swedish population aged 25-74 years was followed from 1 January 2000 until hospitalization for AF, death, emigration, or the end of the study period (31 December 2008). Data were analysed by multilevel logistic regression, with individual-level characteristics (age, marital status, family income, educational attainment, migration status, urban/rural status, mobility, and comorbidity) at the first level and level of neighbourhood deprivation at the second level. Neighbourhood deprivation was significantly associated with AF hospitalization rate in women [odds ratio (OR) = 1.40, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.35-1.47], but not men (OR = 1.01, 95% CI 0.97-1.04). The odds of AF in women living in the most deprived neighbourhoods remained significant after adjustment for age and individual-level socioeconomic characteristics (OR = 1.12, 95% 1.08-1.16). However, in the full model, which took account of age, individual-level socioeconomic characteristics, and comorbidities (chronic lower respiratory diseases, OR = 1.30; type 2 diabetes, OR = 1.32; alcoholism and alcohol-related liver disease, OR = 1.57; hypertension, OR = 2.84; obesity, OR = 1.80; heart failure, OR = 7.40; coronary heart disease, OR = 1.81; and hyperthyroidism, OR = 6.79), the odds of AF did not remain significant in women in the most deprived neighbourhoods (OR = 1.03, 95% CI 0.99-1.07). CONCLUSION: Neighbourhood deprivation and socioeconomic disparities are not independently associated with hospitalized AF in contrast to many other CVDs.