title: Socioeconomic Status as a Predictor of Mortality in Patients Admitted With Atrial Fibrillation.
abstract: Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the association between SES and mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is not clear. We examined whether SES predicts all-cause mortality in patients hospitalized with AF. This is a retrospective study of patients aged >18 years, admitted with a primary diagnosis of AF to Montefiore Medical Center between 2000 and 2010. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine predictors of survival adjusted for age, gender, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, previous myocardial infraction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, and SES. SES was determined using the New York City Department of Health Standardized Score (a log composite score of household income, value of housing units, net rental income, household occupations, and educational level). The cohort was divided into quartiles based on SES score, with Q4 the highest and Q1 the lowest SES score. There were 4,503 patients identified with a mean follow up of 4.5 years in the following SES quartiles: Q1 (n = 1,132), Q2 (n = 1,119), Q3 (n = 1,126), and Q4 (n = 1,126). The unadjusted mortality varied across quartiles (Q1 to Q4), 54%, 58%, 56%, and 59%, respectively (p = 0.004). After controlling for other variables in the multivariable analysis, patients with the lowest SES (Q1) had a significantly higher mortality than patients in the quartile with the highest (Q4) SES (odds ratio 1.3, CI 1.1 to 1.5). In conclusion, patients admitted to the hospital with AF have varying mortality based on their SES. After controlling for co-morbidities, patients with AF and lower SES scores had higher mortality. Further research studies are warranted to study this risk of increased mortality in AF population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: Faraj
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kargoli
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shulman
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York; Department of Cardiology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aagaard
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: David F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Briceno
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: Ethan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hoch
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York; Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center, Austin, Texas; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, Texas; Department of Cardiology, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Di Biase
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: Soo G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krumerman
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. Electronic address: kferrick@montefiore.org.
authors.forename: Kevin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Ferrick
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D002423:Cause of Death; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D004522:Educational Status; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D009790:Occupations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D016491:Peripheral Vascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology; D051436:Renal Insufficiency, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012923:Social Class