ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: This study evaluated the association between neighborhood-level social determinants of health (SDOH) and liver transplantation (LT) among patients with cirrhosis who have universal access to health care. APPROACH AND RESULTS: This was a retrospective population-based cohort study from 2000-2019 using administrative health care data from Ontario, Canada. Adults aged 18-70 years with newly decompensated cirrhosis and/or HCC were identified using validated coding. The associations between five neighborhood level SDOH quintiles and LT were assessed with multivariate Fine-Gray competing risks regression to generate subdistribution HRs (sHRs) where death competes with LT. Overall, n = 38,719 individuals formed the cohort (median age 57 years, 67% male), and n = 2788 (7%) received LT after a median of 23 months (interquartile range 3-68). Due to an interaction, results were stratified by sex. After multivariable regression and comparing those in the lowest versus highest quintiles, individuals living in the most materially resource-deprived areas (female sHR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.49-0.76; male sHR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.48-0.64), most residentially unstable neighborhoods (female sHR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.49-0.75; male sHR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.49-0.65), and lowest-income neighborhoods (female sHR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.46-0.7; male sHR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.50-0.67) had ~40% reduced subhazard for LT (p < 0.01 for all). No associations were found between neighborhoods with the most diverse immigrant or racial minority populations or age and labor force quintiles and LT. CONCLUSIONS: This information highlights an urgent need to evaluate how SDOH influence rates of LT, with the overarching goal to develop strategies to overcome inequalities.
