Black patients from underserved communities are 19% more likely to die after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) than white patients from the same region, according to new data published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Meanwhile, the group found that there was no difference in mortality between Black and white patients who lived in the same "well-resourced neighborhood."
The analysis included long-term outcomes data related to more than 31,000 patients—62.8% men—insured by Kaiser Permanente in Southern California. The mean patient age was 68.8 years old. While 55.4% of patients were white, 11.1% were Black, 22.3% were Hispanic and 7.9% were Asian.
“All patients in this study had equal access to medical care and were treated at the same medical facilities, but despite comparable health care access, Black patients from lower resourced neighborhoods still had higher mortality compared to white patients,” Ming Sum Lee, MD, PhD, a cardiologist with the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, said in a statement. “This study suggests that social and environmental factors can affect a person's outcome after a heart attack, and where a person lives can have a powerful impact on health outcomes.”
What causes this different in outcomes? The authors provided multiple factors that likely play a role. Underserved communities are less likely to have access to key features such as public parking and fully stocked grocery stores, for example, making it more difficult to shop for healthy food options. Also, they added, "the lack of convenient public transportation makes it harder for patients to make medical appointments."
The authors concluded that additional community resources distributed to low-income regions may help address racial and ethnic health disparities and improve health outcomes.
Read the full study here.