360 Incidence of peripheral arterial disease by ethnicity and gender in New South Wales, Australia: a census-linked cohort study

Abstract OP 16: Exclusion and Discrimmination 2, B207 (FCSH), September 4, 2025, 13:30 - 14:30 Background Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is the third-most prevalent cardiovascular disease globally, contributing substantially to morbidity and mortality. Racial and gender-based inequities in disease presentation, treatment access, and outcomes are well documented, exacerbated by systemic healthcare inequities and socioeconomic drivers. Linking census-derived ancestry data to health records enables a more nuanced understanding of inequities to inform targeted interventions in at-risk populations. Methods We conducted a population-based cohort study by linking the 2016 Australian Census to administrative health data from New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The cohort includes all NSW residents aged ≥25 years who completed the 2016 Census and were successfully linked to the Person Linked Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA, n = 4,609,869). Individuals with a diagnosis of PAD recorded in the past 10 years were excluded. Incident diagnoses of PAD were identified based on ICD-10 codes from hospital records or the death register. Follow up was from August 2016 to June 2022. Ethnicity was based on self-reported ancestry in the Census, with categorisations informed by an expert and community panel. Results Preliminary findings indicate the age-standardised incidence of PAD was 57 per 100,000 person-years in females and 116 per 100,000 person-years in males. Among women, Māori (112 per 100,000) and Pasifika (122 per 100,000) had more than double the incidence of the general female population, whilst women of Arab ethnicity (68 per 100,000) had an elevated incidence. In men, PAD incidence was higher in Pasifika (176 per 100,000) and Arab (146 per 100,000) populations. Other ethnic groups had PAD incidence at or below the population average. Conclusion Our preliminary results of a population data linkage study demonstrate large inequalities in PAD incidence in Māori, Pasifika, and Arab ethnic groups, particularly for women. Further analysis will explore how these inequalities intersect with socioeconomic position to inform more equitable healthcare strategies.