Association of socioeconomic status with the management outcome of unruptured intracranial arteriovenous malformation

OBJECTIVE The longitudinal management of unruptured brain arteriovenous malformation (bAVM) is crucial. To date, no study in the United States has evaluated the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on bAVM outcome. Herein, the authors aimed to clarify the impact of SES, as indicated by the area deprivation index (ADI), on bAVM outcome. METHODS A retrospective analysis of an institutional bAVM database was conducted. Non–hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia patients with a single unruptured bAVM in the period from 1990 to 2021 were included in the analysis. The ADI was categorized as low (ADI ≤ 15th percentile), mid (15th percentile < ADI < 85th percentile), and high (ADI ≥ 85th percentile), with a low ADI indicating the most advantaged group. Patient baseline and follow-up data were analyzed. The primary outcome of interest was nonindependence (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score > 2) at the last follow-up. A multivariable logistic regression model was performed. RESULTS A total of 589 patients with unruptured bAVMs were included in the study. The mean patient age at diagnosis was 37.2 years, and 283 patients (48.0%) were male. Of the bAVMs, 238 (40.4%) had a low Spetzler-Martin grade (SMG < III), 194 (32.9%) had a moderate grade (SMG III), and 157 (26.7%) had a high grade (SMG > III). Sixty-nine patients (11.7%) were in the low-ADI group, 476 (80.8%) in the mid-ADI group, and 44 (7.5%) in high-ADI group. Increasing age (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01–1.04, p < 0.001), poor baseline mRS score (OR 3.27, 95% CI 1.32–7.88, p = 0.008), treatment with surgery plus radiosurgery with or without embolization (OR 3.21, 95% CI 1.03–9.81, p = 0.041), mid SMG (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.11–3.44, p = 0.021), high SMG (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.13–3.88, p = 0.020), longer follow-up (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.03–1.08, p < 0.001), and mid ADI (OR 3.08, 95% CI 1.34–8.39, p = 0.015) were significantly associated with a poor outcome. A high ADI tended toward a poor outcome (OR 2.93, 95% CI 0.92–9.88, p = 0.071). Eventual obliteration of a bAVM was the only protective predictor of poor outcome (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.30–0.98, p = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS This study revealed that relatively disadvantaged patients with unruptured bAVMs are more likely to experience nonindependent outcomes at the last follow-up, after adjusting for confounding variables. An emphasis on social support may be beneficial for patients with a lower SES.