The Impact of Social Deprivation on Outcomes in Forefoot Surgery

The impact of social deprivation (SD) on health outcomes is a topic of increasing interest in orthopaedics. There are limited studies and no clear consensus, though, on the impact of SD on outcomes in foot and ankle surgery. Area deprivation index (ADI) is a well-studied and validated surrogate metric for SD. We hypothesized that patients with greater SD would have worse patient-reported pain and physical function at baseline and at 6 weeks and 6 months following elective forefoot surgery.

We retrospectively analyzed data from 477 forefoot surgeries between January 2015 and December 2022 to determine if SD was associated with patient-reported outcomes (PROs) related to pain and physical function. Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) physical function (PF) and pain interference (PI) assessments administered preoperatively and at 6 weeks and 6 months postoperatively. SD was quantified using the ADI. Patients were divided into high- and low-deprivation groups using the national median ADI of 50.

At baseline before surgery, PROMIS-PF and PROMIS-PI scores were similar between high and low social deprivation groups. At 6 weeks and 6 months after surgery, there were no significant differences between high- and low-deprivation groups for either PROMIS-PF or PROMIS-PI. Both groups (high and low social deprivation) demonstrated similar improvements in pain and function at 6 months after surgery. The only variable associated with outcomes was employment status, with disabled and unemployed patients exhibiting greater pain and less function before surgery. Disabled patients also had greater pain after surgery.

Based on our data, social deprivation did not appear to be associated with patient-reported pain or physical function prior to forefoot surgery or at 6 weeks or 6 months following surgery.