Among pediatric patients aged 2 to 20 years with lupus, numerous socioeconomic factors have been found to affect length of hospital stay and disease severity, according to a report published by Soulsby et al in Arthritis Care & Research. Though health disparities based on socioeconomic factors have been previously studied in adult patients with lupus, research into pediatric disparities has been lacking. In terms of income, investigators found that pediatric patients in the lowest income quartile had a 12% longer hospital stay compared with pediatric patients in the highest income quartile. Black or “other” race and use of public insurance were associated with greater disease severity; White race and private insurance were associated with lower disease severity.
May 25, 2023