Socioeconomic Status and Clinical Stage of Patients Presenting for Treatment of Chronic Venous Disease.

OBJECTIVES

The association between socioeconomic status (SES) and chronic venous insufficiency has not been rigorously studied. This study aimed to determine the influence of SES on the clinical stage of patients presenting for chronic venous disease therapy.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective study of a prospectively collected data from the Vascular Quality Initiative Varicose Vein Registry at our tertiary referral center. Medical records of patients who underwent therapy for chronic venous disease between January 2015 and June 2019 were queried. SES was quantified using the neighborhood deprivation index (NDI), which summarizes 8 domains of socioeconomic deprivation and is based on census tract data derived from the patients' addresses at the time of the treatment. High NDI scores correspond with lower SES. The association between SES and severity of vein disease at presentation was assessed with bivariate analysis of variance and linear regression analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 449 patients with complete SES and clinical-etiology-anatomy-pathophysiology (CEAP) class data were included in the study. The mean age was 58 years, 67% were female, and 60% were White. CEAP classes were distributed as follows C2, 22%; C3, 50%; C4, 15%; C5, 5%; and C6, 8%. Patients with lower SES (higher NDI score) tended to have a higher CEAP class at presentation (P < 0.05). SES was not associated with history of deep venous thrombosis, use of compression therapy, or venous clinical severity score.

CONCLUSIONS

At our institution, patients with more advanced venous disease tended to belong to a lower SES group. This may reflect that patient with a lower SES have a longer time to presentation due to delay in seeking medical help for venous disease.