Abstract
To date, no study has characterized the association between neighborhood poverty, racial composition and deceased donor kidney waitlist. Using the United States Renal Data System data linked to 2000 U.S. Census Data, we examined Whites (n = 152 788) and Blacks (n = 130 300) initiating dialysis between January 2000 and December 2006. Subjects' neighborhoods were divided into nine strata based on the percent of Black residents and percent poverty. Cox proportional hazards were used to determine the association between time to waitlist and neighborhood characteristics after adjusting for demographics and comorbid conditions. Individuals from poorer neighborhoods had a consistently lower likelihood of being waitlisted. This association was synergistic with neighborhood racial composition for Blacks, but not for Whites. Blacks in poor, predominantly Black neighborhoods (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.57, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.53-0.62) were less likely to appear on transplant waitlist than those in wealthy, predominantly Black neighborhoods (HR 0.80, CI 0.67-0.96) and poor, predominantly White neighborhoods (HR 0.79, CI 0.70-0.89). All were all less likely to be waitlisted than their Black counterparts in wealthy, predominantly White or mixed neighborhoods (p < 0.05). Interventions targeted at individuals in poor and minority neighborhoods may represent an opportunity to improve equitable access to the deceased donor kidney waitlist.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1912-1917 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | American Journal of Transplantation |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 2010 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Access to transplantation
- United States Renal Data System
- racial and ethnic disparities
- waiting list
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
- Transplantation
- Pharmacology (medical)