Impact of socioeconomic status on acuity of brain MRI findings

Motivation: Understanding effects of sociodemographic factors on acuity of MRI findings is critical to health equity. Goal(s): To determine effects of neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES) and distance between home address and imaging center on acuity of brain MRI findings, controlling for demographics and insurance coverage. Approach: Retrospective brain MRI data from 4825 patients acquired at our tertiary care hospital were utilized in analysis. Regression analysis was used to determine relationships between acuity, nSES, and distance. Results: Lower nSES was correlated with higher acuity of brain MRI findings; distance between home address and MR imaging location did not affect acuity. Impact: We observed neighborhood socioeconomic status significantly correlates with acuity of brain MRI findings when adjusting for race, insurance coverage, encounter type, sex, age, and marital status, emphasizing the need for solutions to reduce socioeconomic barriers to receiving MRI scans.