Maternal race/ethnicity and survival experience of children with congenital heart disease.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To investigate the existence of racial/ethnic disparity in mortality risk among children with individual congenital heart defects and identify any other risk factors.

STUDY DESIGN:

The study cohort, comprising children born between 1983 and 2006 with a selected congenital heart defect, was matched to death records to ascertain vital status. The birth and maternal risk factors were obtained from birth certificates.

RESULTS:

After adjusting for covariates using a multivariate regression model, the risk of mortality was significantly higher in children of non-Hispanic black mothers with transposition of the great arteries (hazard ratio (HR), 1.31; 95% CI, 1.07-1.60), tetralogy of Fallot (HR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.06-1.69), and coarctation of the aorta (HR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.10-1.79), compared with children of non-Hispanic white mothers. Time trends analysis examining the mortality risk by survival age and birth period found a significant decrease in 5-year mortality risk from 1983 to 2003 births, with a nearly 50% reduction for hypoplastic left heart syndrome and coarctation of the aorta across 3 maternal racial/ethnic groups examined.

CONCLUSION:

Our findings may help identify at-risk populations and mortality risk factors and thereby contribute to improved survival and quality of life for these children across the lifespan.

• Authors: Ying Wang, Gang Liu, Charlotte M Druschel, Russell S Kirby
• Journal: The Journal of pediatrics (J Pediatr) Vol. 163 Issue 5 Pg. 1437-42.e1-2 (Nov 2013) ISSN: 1097-6833 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 23932315 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2013 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Topics

• Adolescent
• Adult
• Black or African American
• Aortic Coarctation (ethnology)
• Child
• Child, Preschool
• Cohort Studies
• Disease Susceptibility
• Female
• Heart Defects, Congenital (ethnology, mortality)
• Hispanic or Latino
• Humans
• Infant
• Infant, Newborn
• Male
• Mothers
• Multivariate Analysis
• Proportional Hazards Models
• Risk Factors
• Transposition of Great Vessels (ethnology)
• Treatment Outcome
• White People
• Young Adult