The Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Decision on Withdrawal of Life-sustaining Treatments in Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Background: Socioeconomic status affects outcomes in cerebrovascular disease, although its role in the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments (WLST) remains uncertain. We aim to examine the impact of socioeconomic factors on outcomes including WLST in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of a cohort of consecutive patients with aSAH who were admitted to an academic center from 2016 to 2023. Publicly available data on median neighborhood income by zip code areas were obtained from the US census. Low economic-insurance status (EIS) was defined as using Medicaid or having no insurance or living in a zip code within the lowest two quintiles of household income. High EIS was defined as not using Medicaid and having any other insurance and living in a zip code within the highest two quintiles of household income. The rest of the cohort who was not categorized in the high or low EIS groups was defined as middle EIS. We used multivariable logistic regression analysis to assess the association between socioeconomic and demographic factors and outcomes including WLST, mortality, and 3-month modified Rankin Scale.

Results: We included 410 patients, with mean age 57.9 years (standard deviation 13.8), who were 65% female, 70% white, 36.8% low EIS, and 35.6% high EIS. Higher EIS was associated with WLST (odds ratio 1.53 per increase in EIS, 95% confidence interval 1.07-2.18; p = 0.02) when adjusted for other predictors. In addition, a higher quintile of neighborhood income, regardless of insurance status, was associated with higher odds of WLST (odds ratio 1.41 per each quintile increase, 95% confidence interval 1.07-1.86; p = 0.014). However, there was no association between EIS and 3-month modified Rankin Scale when adjusted for disease severity factors.

Conclusions: Higher EIS and residing in areas with higher neighborhood incomes were associated with higher odds of WLST in aSAH. Further multicenter studies are needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms that contribute to these associations.