Patterns of Social Risk Factors and Associations With Health Outcomes: Findings From a Latent Class Analysis

IntroductionWith growing attention to the role of social factors in shaping health, efforts have emerged to integrate social risk information into population health surveillance and healthcare delivery. However, current approaches to address social risk tend to focus on responding to each risk factor in isolation, overlooking the interconnected nature of multiple social risks that often cluster together.MethodsThis study used latent class analysis to identify profiles of co-occurring social risk using a national sample of 110,028 adults across 17 U.S. states.ResultsThree profiles emerged: Low Social Risk, Moderate Financial Strain with Food Insecurity, and High Financial Strain with Food and Housing Insecurity. These profiles were characterized by their health conditions and examined in relation to self-reported health (SRH). The High Financial Strain with Food and Housing Insecurity profile was characterized by elevated rates of depression, obesity, hypertension, and the highest odds of reporting poor/fair SRH (OR = 3.1, 95% CI: 2.78-3.67). The Moderate Financial Strain with Food Insecurity profile also showed increased odds of poor SRH (OR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.85-2.23).ConclusionThe findings underscore the importance of understanding clustering of social risks to provide more targeted, effective population health strategies.