BackgroundHealth inequalities affect many respiratory diseases. However, little is known about the extent or impact amongst patients treated with home non-invasive ventilation (NIV). This study explored health inequalities faced by these patients and associations with respiratory healthcare burden.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients actively receiving home-NIV treatment. Data on patient demographics, hospital healthcare burden and NIV adherence was collected between 4 October 2021 to 4 October 2023, and their relationships were evaluated.Results187 patients met the inclusion criteria. Total hospital bed days was higher in females than in males, (11.7 ± 27.0 days vs 5.2 ± 12.5 days, p = 0.039), and increasing age was positively associated with higher number of respiratory-related hospital admissions (r = 0.146, p = 0.048). There was a weak correlation between deprivation rank and number of NIV care appointments missed (r = -0.163, p = 0.031). A higher BMI (>40 kg/m2) was associated with lower daily home-NIV use (68.7% ± 4.9% vs 83.0% ± 3.1% nights NIV used, p = 0.012).ConclusionPatients with higher BMI had lower NIV adherence, females required more hospital bed days, older patients had more hospital admissions, and more deprived patients missed more hospital appointments.
Milczanowska et al. (Sun,) studied this question.
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