Relationship Between Social Deprivation and Access to Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation: A Population-Level...

Access to catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) may vary due to social deprivation.

This study sought to characterize the correlation between our outcomes of interest (rates of AF diagnoses, ablation referrals, and procedures) and the association between social deprivation and our outcomes.

Rates and correlations of AF diagnoses, ablation referrals, and procedures were reported across 49 census divisions in Ontario, Canada. We used the Ontario Marginalization Index to determine the relationship between dependency, material deprivation, ethnic concentration, and residential instability and our outcomes.

Between April 2016 and March 2020, there were 146,366 patients diagnosed with AF; 6,506 patients were referred for ablation; and 4,673 patients underwent de novo ablation. The median age was 72 years (IQR: 61-81 years; 45% female) for the AF cohort and 62 years (IQR: 55-69 years, 33% to 34% female) for the referral and procedure cohorts. There was geographic variation and a weak concordance between AF diagnoses, ablation referrals, and procedures (correlation coefficients 0.33-0.36). Increased material deprivation was associated with more AF diagnoses (rate ratio [RR]: 1.13), but fewer ablation referrals (RR: 0.49) and procedures (RR: 0.48). Increased residential instability was associated with more AF diagnoses (RR: 1.02), but fewer ablation referrals (RR: 0.63) and procedures (RR: 0.64). Higher ethnic concentration was associated with fewer AF diagnoses, ablation referrals, and procedures.

In a jurisdiction with universal health care, greater material deprivation and residential instability were associated with more AF diagnoses but less access to ablation, suggesting substantial social gradients in equitable access to AF care.