Social Determinants of Health as Key Contributors to Health Inequity

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are being recognized increasingly as drivers of health inequity, contributing to worsened health outcomes for marginalized people, according to Karol Watson, MD, PhD, at the 2022 Congress of the American Society for Preventative Cardiology. During the talk, which took place this past Sunday, July 31st, Watson detailed how the disproportionate mortality rate of people of color during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic highlights race as an SDOH.

According to Mary Caffrey, “With Wendy Post, MD, MS, of Johns Hopkins as first author, Watson just published results in Circulation that show Black participants in the MESA study had a 34% higher hazard from all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality. ‘Clearly, we see differences in life expectancy.’”

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(Source: AJMC, July 31st, 2022)