Effect of Maternal Race, Residential Rurality, and Social Vulnerability on Critical Congenital Heart Defect Risk

This study explored whether maternal race and lived environment were associated with an infant being born with a critical CHD. A cross-sectional, case –control design was conducted utilizing secondary data analysis. The CHD group (N = 199) consisted of infants diagnosed with a critical CHD within the first year of life identified from hospital databases. The non-CHD group (N = 548) was a random sample of infants selected from the state’s vital statistics database. The primary outcome was a critical CHD diagnosis. Maternal race, residential rurality, and the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) were assessed for associations with a critical CHD using bivariate and mul tilevel regression models. Bivariate findings reported significance among residential rurality (p <  0.001), SVI ranking overall (p = 0.017), and SVI by theme (theme 1p =  0.004, theme 2p < 0.001, theme 3p = 0.007, and theme 4p = 0.049) when comparing infants with and without a critical CHD diagnosis. Results of multilevel logistic regression analyses further identified living in a rural residential area compared to urban areas (OR = 7.32;p < 0.001) as a predictor for a critical CHD diagnosis. The findings of lived environmental level associations provides information needed for continued investigation as the burden of a critical CHD continues to impact families, suggesting further research efforts are needed to improve health disparities.
Source: Pediatric Cardiology - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research