Neighborhood disadvantage, race, and clinical outcomes in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder.

Background: Little is known about the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) outcomes.

Objective: The objective is to determine the impact of neighborhood disadvantage on time from symptom onset to diagnosis and annualized relapse rate (ARR).

Methods: Neighborhood disadvantage were captured with the Area Deprivation Index (ADI), a validated measure of neighborhood-level disadvantage. Negative binomial regression models assessed the impact of ADI on diagnostic delay (⩾3 months between symptom onset and diagnosis) and ARR.

Results: A total of 158 NMOSD patients were identified, a majority of whom were White (56.3%) and female (89.9%) with a mean age of 46 years at diagnosis. The ADI did not significantly affect odds of diagnostic delay (odds ratio (OR) = 0.99, p = 0.26). In univariable models, the ADI was not significantly associated with ARR (OR = 1.004, p = 0.29), but non-White race (OR = 1.541, p = 0.02) and time on immunosuppressive therapies (ISTs; OR = 0.994, p = 0.03) were. White patients used IST for an average of 81% of the follow-up period, compared to an average of 65% for non-White patients (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: No significant relationship between neighborhood-level disadvantage and diagnostic delay or ARR in NMOSD patients was observed. Non-White patients had a higher ARR, which may be related to less IST use.