The Association of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status with Executive Function and Processing Speed in Cognitively Normal Mexican American Elders from the Health and Aging Brains Study: Health Disparities Cohort.

INTRODUCTION: Neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES) has been linked with overall health, and this study will evaluate whether NSES is cross-sectionally associated with cognition in non-Hispanic whites (NHWs) and Mexican Americans (MAs) from the Health and Aging Brain: Health Disparities Study (HABS-HD). METHODS: The HABS-HD is a longitudinal study conducted at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. The final sample analyzed (n = 1,312) were 50 years or older, with unimpaired cognition, and underwent an interview, neuropsychological examination, imaging, and blood draw. NSES was measured using the national area deprivation index (ADI) percentile ranking, which considered socioeconomic variables. Executive function and processing speed were assessed by the trail making tests (A and B) and the digit-symbol substitution test, respectively. Linear regression was used to assess the association of ADI and cognitive measures. RESULTS: MAs were younger, more likely to be female, less educated, had higher ADI scores, performed worse on trails B (all p < 0.05), and had lower prevalence of APOE4 + when compared to NHWs (p < 0.0001). A higher percentage of MAs lived in the most deprived neighborhoods than NHWs. For NHWs, ADI did not predict trails B or DSS scores, after adjusting for demographic variables and APOE4. For MAs, ADI predicted trails A, trails B, and DSS after adjusting for demographic covariates and APOE4 status. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that living in an area of higher deprivation was associated with lower cognitive function in MAs but not in NHWs, which is important to consider in future interventions to slow cognitive decline.

The Utility of the Brokamp Area Deprivation Index as a Prescreen for Social Risk in Primary Care.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the relationship between an Area Deprivation Index (ADI) and a Social Determinant of Health (SDoH) measure within a diverse sample. A prescreening tool based on routinely collected information could reduce clinical burden by identifying patients impacted by SDoH for comprehensive assessment. STUDY DESIGN: In total, 499 consented pediatric patient-families who spoke English, Spanish, or Arabic and had a child ≤12 years receiving primary care at a large academic institution were enrolled. Participants completed the Health Leads Social Needs (HLSN) survey. Residential address was extracted from the electronic health record to calculate Brokamp ADI at the census-tract level. The main outcome was the correlations between the total HLSN score and Brokamp ADI, overall and in each language subgroup. ADI distributions were also compared between participants with/without need for each of the 8 HLSN survey SDoH domains, using 2-sample t-tests and Pearson χ2 tests. RESULTS: In total, 54.9% of participants were English-speaking, 30.9% were Spanish-speaking, and 14.2% were Arabic-speaking. Spearman correlations between Brokamp ADI and total HLSN score were overall (rs = 0.15; P = .001), English (rs = 0.12; P = .04), Spanish (rs = 0.03; P = .7), and Arabic (rs = 0.24; P = .04). SDoH domain analyses found significant ADI differences between those with/without need in housing instability, childcare, transportation, and health literacy. CONCLUSIONS: There were small but statistically significant associations between the Brokamp ADI and total HLSN score and SDoH domains of housing instability, childcare, transportation, and health literacy. These findings support testing the Brokamp ADI as a prescreening tool to help identify patients with social needs in an outpatient clinical setting.

The impact of socioeconomic status on subsequent neurological outcomes in multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: To examine whether lower neighborhood-level and individual-level indicators of socioeconomic status (SES) are associated with subsequently worse neurological disability in people with MS (pwMS). METHODS: In a multi-center study using prospectively collected data from discovery cohorts (University of Pittsburgh, N=1316) and replication cohorts (Columbia University, N=488), we calculated a neighborhood SES indicator, area deprivation index (ADI), based on participants' residence at enrollment, and we derived an individual SES indicator based on participants' household income. Patient-reported neurological outcomes included the Multiple Sclerosis Rating Scale-Revised (MSRS-R), Patient-Determined Disease Steps (PDDS), and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Function scores from 2018 to 2020. We performed covariate-adjusted regression analyses in each cohort and then random-effects meta-analyses. RESULTS: Higher ADI (lower SES) in 2015 was associated with subsequently worse neurological outcomes during 2018-2020 (discovery: MSRS-R, ß=0.62, 95%CI [0.36,0.89], p<0.001; PDDS, ß=0.11, 95%CI [0.02,0.20], p=0.02 | replication: MSRS-R, ß=0.46, 95%CI [0.21,0.72], p<0.001; PDDS, ß=0.12, 95%CI [0.03,0.21], p=0.009, PROMIS, ß=-0.60, 95%CI [-1.12,-0.08], p=0.025). Lower neighborhood percent with college education (MSRS-R, ß=-7.31, 95%CI [-8.99,-5.64], p<0.001; PDDS, ß=-1.62, 95%CI [-2.20,-1.05], p<0.001; PROMIS, ß=9.31, 95%CI [5.73,12.89], p<0.001), neighborhood median household income (MSRS-R, ß=-3.80e-05, 95%CI [-5.05e-05,-2.56e-05], p<0.001; PDDS, ß=-8.58e-06, 95%CI [-1.28e-05,-4.32e-06], p<0.001; PROMIS, ß=2.55e-05, 95%CI [5.96e-07,5.05e-05], p=0.045), and neighborhood median home value (MSRS-R, ß=-6.50e-06, 95%CI [-8.16e-06,-4.84e-06], p<0.001; PDDS, ß=-1.54e-06, 95%CI [-2.11e-06,-9.65e-07], p<0.001; PROMIS, ß=4.98e-06, 95%CI [1.81e-06,8.14e-06], p=0.002) drove the association between higher ADI and subsequently worse neurological disability (in joint analyses). Neighborhood percent of population with Medicaid, but not private insurance, significantly mediated the observed covariate-adjusted associations. Higher individual-level household income bracket was associated with better neurological outcomes in joint analyses (MSRS-R: R=-0.39, p<0.001; PDDS: R=-0.35, p<0.001; PROMIS: R=0.37, p<0.001), independent of ADI. CONCLUSIONS: Lower neighborhood SES is associated with subsequently worse neurological outcomes in pwMS. Future testing of targeted intervention through public policies that improve SES are warranted.

Area Deprivation Index and Oral Anticoagulation in New Onset Atrial Fibrillation.

Objective: Oral anticoagulation is a standard of care for thromboembolic stroke prevention in individuals with atrial fibrillation (AF). Social determinants of health have had limited investigation in AF and particularly in access to anticoagulation. We examined the relation between area deprivation index (ADI) and anticoagulation in individuals at risk of stroke due to AF. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with incident, non-valvular AF from 2015-2020 receiving care at a large, regional health center. We extracted demographics, medications, and problem lists and used administrative coding to identify comorbid conditions and relevant covariates, and individual-level residential address to ascertain ADI. We examined the relation between ADI and receipt of prescribed oral anticoagulation (warfarin or direct-acting oral anticoagulant, or DOAC) at 90 days following AF diagnosis in multivariable-adjusted models. Results: Following exclusions, the dataset included 20,210 individuals (age 74.5±10.9 years; 51% women; 94% white race). In multivariable-adjusted analyses, individuals in the highest quartile of ADI had a 16% lower likelihood of receiving anticoagulation prescription than those in the lowest ADI quartile (Odds Ratio [OR] 0.84; 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 0.75-0.95) at 90 days following AF diagnosis. In those receiving anticoagulation, individuals in the highest ADI quartile had a 24% lower likelihood of receiving a DOAC prescription as opposed to warfarin prescription than those in the lowest quartile (OR 0.76; 95% CI, 0.60-0.96) at 90 days following AF diagnosis. Conclusions: We demonstrate the association of higher neighborhood deprivation as determined by ADI with decreased likelihood of (1) anticoagulation prescribing for stroke prevention in AF and (2) prescription of a DOAC when any oral anticoagulation is prescribed. Our results suggest neighborhood-based health inequities in the receipt of anticoagulation prescription for stroke prevention in AF in a large, regional health care system.

Social Needs of Patients Undergoing Total Joint Arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: Many patients have unmet social needs that may affect their health care utilization and outcomes. We sought to examine a program to determine the types of social needs facing arthroplasty patients and methods used to address these needs. METHODS: We conducted a pilot, retrospective review of our integrated social needs program for total joint arthroplasty (TJA) patients. A 16-question needs assessment was instituted as part of our perioperative protocol between February 1, 2020, to October 1, 2020. We examined the types of social needs in 250 primary TJA patients and a resolution method. We evaluated associations between social needs and demographics and Area Deprivation Index (ADI). Outcome measures were also evaluated, including readmissions, discharge date, and outcome score changes. RESULTS: Forty-four (17.6%) patients had a social need. Social needs frequency increased in non-White patients (P ≤ .0001), non-English speakers (P = .0304), younger patients (P = .001), nonmarried patients (P = .0006), unemployed patients (P = .0189), and patients with less health literacy (P = .0215). ADI scores were positively associated with social needs at the national (P = .0006) and state levels (P = .0004). Overall, 75.9% of needs centered around utility payments, employment, prescription costs, education, and transportation. In addition, 64% of the identified needs were resolved through outside referrals. Ninety-day readmissions were significantly higher in patients with social needs (P = .0087). DISCUSSION: Overall, 17.6% of patients in our state have social needs before TJA. Factors increasing the risk of social needs include younger age, minority race, single or divorced marital status, unemployment, low health literacy, and higher ADI. The 90-day readmission rate was significantly higher in patients with social needs.