Adults With CHD and Lower Household Incomes Have Higher Mortality, Disability

THURSDAY, July 23, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Patients with adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) living in states with a lower median household income and higher percentage of uninsured people have increased rates of mortality and disability, according to a study published online July 15 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Vasupradha Suresh Kumar, M.D., from Brown University/Hasbro Children”s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, and colleagues performed a secondary analysis of state-specific data acquired from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) on mortality and disability-adjusted life-years from 1990 to 2021 for U.S. patients with ACHD aged 20 years and older.

The GBD study identified 292,624 adults aged 20 years or older with CHD living in the United States in 2021, with 1,074 ACHD-related deaths and 62,244 disability-adjusted life-years. West Virginia was the state with the highest mortality and disability-adjusted life-years and also had one of the lowest median household incomes ($51,122). Higher median household incomes were seen in states with lower ACHD-related mortality (r² = 0.62). A lower correlation was seen between mortality and the percentage of patients uninsured in each state (r² = 0.14).

“Seeing how these factors affect patients long term allows us to better identify people at highest risk for complications,” senior author Anitha John, M.D., Ph.D., also from Brown University/Hasbro Children”s Hospital, said in a statement. “Then we can work toward improving access and reducing care gaps for people who have congenital heart disease.”

Abstract/Full Text