Surgery survival in elderly dependent upon ZIP code
15 years, 7 months ago
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Posted on Sep 16, 2008, 7 a.m.
By Rich Hurd
Study results have revealed that elderly people living in poor areas are significantly more likely to die after undergoing surgery than those living in more affluent areas.
Study results have revealed that elderly people living in poor areas are significantly more likely to die after undergoing surgery than those living in more affluent areas.
Nancy Birkmeyer and colleagues at the Unversity of Michigan analyzed census and Medicare data to evaluate postoperative death rates in more than one million elderly people who had undergone one of six common, high-risk surgical procedures.
Results showed that socioeconomic status had a significant influence on the patient's risk of death. With death rates among elderly people living in impoverished areas being 17-39% higher than among those living in higher-income neighborhoods. Personal income had no effect upon risk.
The authors concluded that the disparity in surgical outcome is largely attributable to differences between the quality of care at hospitals where patients of higher and lower socioeconomic status tend to receive surgical treatment.
Birkmeyer NJO, Gu N, Baser O, Arden M, Birkmeyer JD. Socioeconomic Status and Surgical Mortality in the Elderly. Medical Care. 2008;46:893-899.
