Association of household income and adverse outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation

BackgroundSocial determinants of health are relevant to cardiovascular outcomes but have had limited examination in atrial fibrillation (AF).ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to examine the association of annual household income and cardiovascular outcomes in individuals with AF.MethodsWe analysed administrative claims for individuals with AF from 2009 to 2015 captured by a health claims database. We categorised estimates of annual household income as ResultsOur analysis included 336 736 individuals (age 72.7±11.9 years; 44.5% women; 82.6% white, 8.4% black, 7.0% Hispanic and 2.1% Asian) with AF followed for median (25th and 75th percentile) of 1.5 (95% CI 0.6 to 3.0) years. We observed an inverse association between income and heart failure and myocardial infarction (MI) with evidence of progressive risk across decreased income categories. Individuals with household income ConclusionsWe identified an association between lower household income and adverse outcomes in a large cohort of individuals with AF. Our findings support consideration of income in the evaluation of cardiovascular risk in individuals with AF.