Effect of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage on 30-day readmissions: A systematic review

Background

The area deprivation index (ADI) is a measure of neighborhood disadvantage. It uses census-level information to quantify a person's neighborhood deprivation level based on their address. Recent studies have used ADI to examine the relationship between a patient's address and various health outcomes, including 30-day readmissions.

Objective

This systematic review was conducted to determine the effect of ADI on 30-day readmissions for both medical and surgical conditions.

Methods

We performed a comprehensive literature search in scientific databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and SCOPUS from 2013 to 2024. Our search included terms related to ADI and 30-day readmissions in adult populations in the United States. Studies were included if they utilized ADI as their primary exposure and examined the risk of readmissions within 30 days as an outcome. Two reviewers independently extracted the data and assessed quality and biases in the studies.

Results

Of the 66 papers found through database search, 23 (35%) were included. These studies focused on conditions such as cardiac, diabetic, neurological, and pulmonary diseases, as well as postsurgical and septic patients, with three studies examining all patients in general. When examining the highest level of ADI, 15 (65%) studies (6 of which focused on postsurgical patients) found that high ADI (most disadvantaged) is significantly associated with 30-day readmissions.

Conclusion

Living in a high ADI area moderately impacts 30-day readmissions, particularly for patients who have undergone surgery or have undifferentiated problems.