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Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and mortality after stroke.

TitleNeighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and mortality after stroke.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2013
AuthorsBrown, AF, Liang, L-J, Vassar, SD, Merkin, SStein, Longstreth, WT, Ovbiagele, B, Yan, T, Escarce, JJ
JournalNeurology
Volume80
Issue6
Start Page520
Pagination520-7
Date Published2013 Feb 05
ISSN1526-632X
KeywordsAged, Female, Humans, Incidence, Kaplan-Meier Estimate, Male, Proportional Hazards Models, Residence Characteristics, Risk Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Stroke, Vulnerable Populations
Abstract<p><b>OBJECTIVE: </b>Residence in a socioeconomically disadvantaged community is associated with mortality, but the mechanisms are not well understood. We examined whether socioeconomic features of the residential neighborhood contribute to poststroke mortality and whether neighborhood influences are mediated by traditional behavioral and biologic risk factors.</p><p><b>METHODS: </b>We used data from the Cardiovascular Health Study, a multicenter, population-based, longitudinal study of adults ≥65 years. Residential neighborhood disadvantage was measured using neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES), a composite of 6 census tract variables representing income, education, employment, and wealth. Multilevel Cox proportional hazard models were constructed to determine the association of NSES to mortality after an incident stroke, adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, stroke type, and behavioral and biologic risk factors.</p><p><b>RESULTS: </b>Among the 3,834 participants with no prior stroke at baseline, 806 had a stroke over a mean 11.5 years of follow-up, with 168 (20%) deaths 30 days after stroke and 276 (34%) deaths at 1 year. In models adjusted for demographic characteristics, stroke type, and behavioral and biologic risk factors, mortality hazard 1 year after stroke was significantly higher among residents of neighborhoods with the lowest NSES than those in the highest NSES neighborhoods (hazard ratio 1.77, 95% confidence interval 1.17-2.68).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION: </b>Living in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood is associated with higher mortality hazard at 1 year following an incident stroke. Further work is needed to understand the structural and social characteristics of neighborhoods that may contribute to mortality in the year after a stroke and the pathways through which these characteristics operate.</p>
DOI10.1212/WNL.0b013e31828154ae
Alternate JournalNeurology
PubMed ID23284071
PubMed Central IDPMC3589286
Grant ListUL1TR000124 / TR / NCATS NIH HHS / United States
AG-15928 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
AG-20098 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
UL1 TR000124 / TR / NCATS NIH HHS / United States
N01-HC-85086 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
AG-027058 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
N01-HC-35129 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01 HC-55222 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01-HC-75150 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01 HC-15103 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01-HC-45133 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01-HC-85079 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
HL080295 / HL / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
N01-HC-85239 / HC / NHLBI NIH HHS / United States
AG-023629 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
U54NS081764 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States