Clinical Research Intern Barrow Neurological Institute
Introduction: Racial and socioeconomic disparities are well documented in the literature. We sought to examine the sociodemographic differences in patients presenting with unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) in comparison to aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) at a large-volume cerebrovascular center.
Methods: A retrospective assessment of all patients with aSAH and UIA who presented to a large-volume cerebrovascular center from January 2013 through December 2014 was conducted. Race/Ethnicity and insurance type were collected. SES was determined using the Area Deprivation Index and home addresses. Patients were categorized into one of five SES tiers, in which tier 1 corresponded with the least disadvantaged and tier 5 with the most disadvantaged.
Results: A total of 327 patients were included. Of these, 144 presented with aSAH and 183 presented with UIA. Patients presenting with aSAH were younger than those with UIA (x̄ = 54.5 years ± 14.03 vs. x̄ = 58.82 years ± 13.19, p = 0.005) and more often living in disadvantaged communities (p = 0.021). White patients more frequently presented with UIA while non-Whites presented with aSAH (p = 0.032). We also found that public-insurers and the uninsured more commonly presented with aSAHs compared to private-insurers (p < 0.001).
Conclusion : Our findings demonstrate the differences in sociodemographic factors of patients presenting with aSAH in comparison to UIA at a single quaternary center. Non-white patients and patients having public or no insurance were disproportionately affected by aSAH. Sociodemographic factors continue to influence health outcomes and necessitate further research to determine the underlying cause and solutions.
