Impact of neighbourhood-level social determinants of health on healthcare utilisation and perinatal outcomes in pregnant women with NAFLD cirrhosis: a population-based study in Ontario, Canada

Background — Cirrhosis is rising in North America, driven partly by the epidemic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), most in women of reproductive age. Little is known about factors that impact perinatal outcomes and healthcare utilisation in pregnant women with NAFLD cirrhosis.

Objectives — We investigated the association between population-level social determinants, health outcomes and healthcare utilisation.

Methods — We retrospectively analysed healthcare utilisation and perinatal outcomes in a cohort of pregnant women with NAFLD cirrhosis from Ontario, Canada from 2000 to 2016 and followed for 90 days postdelivery. We compared utilisation and health outcomes according to income, residential instability, material deprivation, dependency and ethnic diversity. A Cochran-Armitage test for trend was done to assess whether utilisation patterns were linear across quintiles.

Results — 3320 pregnant women with NAFLD cirrhosis formed the study cohort. Decreasing income quintile associated with a higher proportion of women with at least one emergency department (ED) visit. Increasing residential instability, material deprivation and dependency were associated with a higher frequency of ED visitation, with no compelling differences in the rates of perinatal complications or adverse outcomes in pregnant women with NAFLD cirrhosis. Using multiple population-level proxies for social determinants of health, this study demonstrates an association between marginalisation and increased ED visitation.

Conclusions — As the incidence rate of pregnancies among women with NAFLD cirrhosis continues to rise, understanding how this population uses healthcare services will help coordinate care for these patients.