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Odds of Hospital Readmission 34% Higher for Black Heart Attack Patients

Social determinants of health explained only 21 percent of the racial disparities in hospital readmission rates for Black heart attack patients, the researchers noted.

sdoh only explain part of disparities in hospital readmission

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By Sara Heath

- The risk of hospital readmission after a heart attack is markedly higher for Black people than White, a trend researchers said in JAMA Network Open should prompt further investigation into how systemic racism and the social determinants of health affect these racial health disparities.

These findings challenge medical theories stating that racial differences in heart attack outcomes can be explained away by disproportionate social determinants of health burden. Black people are more likely to experience SDOH and have other comorbidities, conventional wisdom has stated, which some have theorized can explain the differences in heart attack outcomes.

But SDOH are just part of the problem, this latest study found. After controlling for social factors and other comorbidities, researchers found that the racial disparities in hospital readmission following a heart attack are persistent.