Socioeconomic Differences in Navigating Access to Lung Transplant
Authors: Carli J. Lehr, Lyla Mourany, Paul Gunsalus, Johnie Rose, Maryam Valapour, Jarrod E. Dalton
Journal: JAMA Network Open (2025)

Importance Inequitable access to transplant in the US is well recognized, yet the nature and extent of upstream disparities in care prior to transplant are unknown. Objective To understand patterns of referral for lung transplant by race, ethnicity, and neighborhood-level socioeconomic status. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective cohort study included adults aged 18 to 80 years with obstructive and restrictive lung disease from a single large-volume transplant center in Cleveland, Ohio, who were diagnosed between January 1, 2006, and May 11, 2023. Exposures Neighborhood resources. Main Outcomes and Measures The main outcome was the transition to the next stage of the transplant care continuum, death, or a lapse in care. Cause-specific Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to account for death as a competing risk, adjusting for age at index encounter (respective to each cohort), diagnosis, and sex as covariates. Results This study included 30 050 patients with obstructive and restrictive lung disease with primary care encounters (mean [SD] age, 65 [13] years; 56.1% female), 73 817 with a pulmonary medicine encounter, 4198 undergoing lung transplant evaluation, and 1378 on the lung transplant waiting list. In a multivariable model including age, diagnosis, sex, area deprivation index, and race and ethnicity (including 3.3% Hispanic, 15.2% non-Hispanic Black, and 81.5% non-Hispanic White individuals), patients residing in the least-resourced neighborhoods were 97% more likely to die without transitioning to pulmonary medicine (hazard ratio [HR], 1.97 [95% CI, 1.78-2.17]), 90% more likely to die prior to lung transplant evaluation (HR, 1.90 [95% CI, 1.77-2.04]), 40% more likely to die prior to placement on the waiting list (HR, 1.40 [95% CI, 1.11-1.76]), and 97% more likely to die prior to transplant (HR, 1.97 [95% CI, 1.18-3.29]) compared with patients residing in the most-resourced neighborhoods. These patients were also 13% less likely to transition to pulmonary medicine (HR, 0.87 [95% CI, 0.82-0.92]) and 45% less likely to be placed on the waiting list (HR, 0.55 [95% CI, 0.44-0.68]) despite a 69% increased likelihood of transplant evaluation (HR, 1.69 [95% CI, 1.36-2.09]). While non-Hispanic Black patients had lower risks of death across all stages of care, they experienced a 39% lower likelihood of proceeding to lung transplant evaluation (HR, 0.61 [95% CI, 0.51-0.74]). Racial differences in the cumulative incidence of waiting list placement were found, but differences were not consistent across levels of neighborhood resources. Conclusions and Relevance In this retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with restrictive and obstructive pulmonary disease, increased mortality risks and decreased likelihood of care escalations for patients who were socioeconomically disadvantaged and for racial and ethnic minority patients were found. These results suggest potential interventions for advancing equitable access to lung transplant.