Association of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status With Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Therapies After Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Background and Objectives Mortality after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is common. Neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES) is an important social determinant of health (SDoH) that can affect clinical outcome. We hypothesize that SDoH, including nSES, contribute to differences in withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies (WLSTs) and mortality in patients with ICH. Methods We performed a retrospective study of patients with ICH at 3 tertiary care hospitals between January 2017 and December 2022 identified through the Get with the Guidelines Database. We collected data on age, clinical severity, race/ethnicity, median household income, insurance, marital status, religion, mortality before discharge, and WLST from the electronic medical record. We assessed for associations between SDoH and WLST, mortality, and poor discharge mRS using Mann-Whitney U tests and χ 2 tests. We performed multivariable analysis using backward stepwise logistic regression. Results We identified 868 patients (median age 67 [interquartile range (IQR) 55–78] years; 43% female) with ICH. Of them, 16% were Black non-Hispanic, 17% were Asian, and 15% were of Hispanic ethnicity; 50% were on Medicare and 22% on Medicaid, and the median (IQR) household income was $81,857 ($58,669–$122,078). Mortality occurred in 17% of patients, and of them, 84% of patients had WLST. Patients from zip codes with higher median household incomes had higher incidence of WLST and mortality ( p < 0.01). Black non-Hispanic race was associated with lower WLST and discharge mortality ( p ≤ 0.01 for both). In multivariable analysis adjusting for age and clinical severity scores, patients who lived in zip codes with high-income levels were more likely to have WLST (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.88; 95% CI 1.29–2.74) and mortality before discharge (aOR 1.5; 95% CI 1.06–2.13). Discussion SDoH, including nSES, are associated with WLST after ICH. This has important implications for the care and management of patients with ICH.