Association of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Postpartum Readmission

We assessed whether neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage, as measured by the Area Deprivation Index (ADI), was associated with an increased risk of postpartum readmission. This is a secondary analysis from nuMoM2b (Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-To-Be), a prospective cohort of nulliparous pregnant individuals from 2010 to 2013. The exposure was the ADI in quartiles, and the outcome was postpartum readmission; Poisson regression was used. Among 9,061 assessed individuals, 154 (1.7%) were readmitted postpartum within 2 weeks of delivery. Individuals living with the most neighborhood deprivation (ADI quartile 4) were at increased risk of postpartum readmission compared with those living with the lowest neighborhood deprivation (ADI quartile 1) (adjusted risk ratio 1.80, 95% CI 1.11-2.93). Measures of community-level adverse social determinants of health, such as the ADI, may inform postpartum care after delivery discharge.

Automated summary

In this study, the researchers investigated the association between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and the risk of postpartum readmission using the Area Deprivation Index (ADI). They found that individuals living in neighborhoods with higher levels of deprivation were at an increased risk of postpartum readmission compared to those living in neighborhoods with lower levels of deprivation. These findings suggest that measures of community-level social determinants of health, such as the ADI, can be useful in informing postpartum care after delivery discharge.