Disparities in Clinical Outcomes Observed Within Electronic Health Record Data From a Statewide Cohort of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Patients

Health disparities in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) have not been extensively reported in the United States. The aim of this project was to characterize the extent of demographic and socioeconomic disparities in clinical outcomes within a large, diverse PAH patient population. A retrospective, population-based study of electronic health record data from the OneFlorida Data Trust was completed. Adult patients seeking care within one of the 12 OneFlorida Network partner healthcare systems with a documented diagnosis of any form of pulmonary hypertension (PH), including PAH, via ICD-10 code were included. Social deprivation index and healthcare provider access scores were calculated from population-based centroids derived from patient home addresses. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, with secondary outcomes including hospitalization, emergency department (ED) visits, and similar clinical outcomes in a combined cohort of patients with other forms PH. A total of 6379 patients were included in the PAH cohort, and 37,412 patients were included in the nonspecific PH cohort. PAH patients with the greatest social deprivation exhibited increased rates of ED visits and hospitalizations. Despite having similar rates of ED visits and hospitalizations compared to non-Hispanics, Hispanic PAH patients had markedly lower mortality rates. Similar associations were also observed in the combined cohort of 37,412 patients with other forms of PH. In conclusion, healthcare disparities exist in PAH outcomes across both demographic and socioeconomic boundaries. Patients identifying as Hispanic appear to have decreased rates of mortality compared to other races/ethnicities.