TABLE 1.
BASELINE CHARACTERISTICS ACROSS THE SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS TERTILES
| Socioeconomic Status Tertiles |
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| Characteristic | Low (n = 73) | Middle (n = 90) | High (n = 99) | P Value* |
| Age, mean (± SD), yr | 35 (11) | 36 (13) | 37 (12) | 0.65 |
| Female, n (%) | 51 (69.9) | 67 (74.4) | 68 (68.7) | 0.81 |
| BMI, mean (± SD), kg/m2 | 21.7 (2.8) | 21.9 (3.1) | 22.4 (3.7) | 0.35 |
| Place of residence, n (%) | 0.19 | |||
| North China | 38 (52.1) | 36 (40.0) | 41 (41.4) | |
| South China | 35 (47.9) | 54 (60.0) | 58 (58.6) | |
| Tobacco use, n (%) | 6 (8.2) | 6 (6.7) | 7 (7.1) | 0.79 |
| Alcohol use, n (%) | 2 (2.7) | 1 (1.1) | 4 (4.0) | 0.54 |
| Comorbid conditions, n (%) | ||||
| Coronary artery disease | 0 | 0 | 2 (2.0) | 1.00 |
| Diabetes | 1 (1.4) | 1 (1.1) | 1 (1.0) | 0.83 |
| Hypertension | 6 (8.2) | 8 (8.9) | 12 (12.1) | 0.38 |
| Hypercholesterolemia | 0 | 0 | 3 (3.0) | 0.99 |
| Renal insufficiency | 0 | 0 | 2 (2.0) | 1.00 |
| Obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2) | 0 | 0 | 4 (4.0) | 0.99 |
| Chronic lung disease | 1 (1.4) | 4 (4.4) | 2 (2.0) | 0.88 |
| 6MWD, mean (± SD), m | 353 (99) | 363 (106) | 378 (104) | 0.29 |
| WHO FC, n (%) | 0.18 | |||
| Class I and II | 20 (27.4) | 31 (34.4) | 37 (37.4) | |
| Class III and IV | 53 (72.6) | 59 (65.6) | 62 (62.6) | |
| Time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis, median (IQR), mo | 25 (8–43) | 24 (12–61) | 24 (8–48) | 0.47 |
| BMPR2 mutation, n (%) | 15 (20.5) | 20 (22.2) | 14 (14.1) | 0.25 |
| Pericardial effusion, n (%) | 23 (31.5) | 13 (14.4) | 20 (20.2) | 0.11 |
| Hemodynamic parameters, mean (± SD) | ||||
| mRAP, mm Hg | 9 (6) | 7 (6) | 8 (6) | 0.29 |
| mPAP, mm Hg | 65 (13) | 63 (15) | 63 (16) | 0.56 |
| PVR, Wood Units | 18 (8) | 17 (8) | 16 (7) | 0.37 |
| Cardiac index, L/min/m2 | 2.3 (0.8) | 2.3 (0.8) | 2.4 (0.9) | 0.56 |
| Acute vasoreactivity, n (%) | 0 | 3 (3.3) | 7 (7.1) | 0.03 |
| Targeted therapy, n (%) | ||||
| PDE5 inhibitors | 47 (64.4) | 56 (62.2) | 66 (66.7) | 0.72 |
| Sildenafil | 34 (46.6) | 41 (45.6) | 51 (51.5) | 0.49 |
| Vardenafil | 13 (17.8) | 15 (16.7) | 15 (15.2) | 0.64 |
| ERA (bosentan) | 8 (11.0) | 17 (18.9) | 27 (27.3) | 0.009 |
| Prostanoids | 7 (9.6) | 12 (13.3) | 17 (17.2) | 0.90 |
| Iloprost | 4 (5.5) | 6 (6.7) | 7 (7.1) | 0.68 |
| Beraprost | 8 (11.0) | 5 (5.6) | 7 (7.1) | 0.39 |
| Combination therapy | 11 (15.1) | 21 (23.3) | 27 (27.3) | 0.06 |
| No targeted therapy, n (%) | 9 (12.3) | 13 (14.4) | 9 (9.1) | 0.47 |
| Clinical trial, n (%) | 26 (35.6) | 25 (27.8) | 32 (32.3) | 0.71 |
| No. of visits, median (IQR) | 2 (1–3) | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–2) | 0.22 |
| Readmission patients (n, %) | 41(56.2) | 42 (46.7) | 47 (47.5) | 0.29 |
| Reevaluated with RHC | 20 (48.8) | 23 (54.8) | 31 (66.0) | 0.10 |
| Reevaluated with DE | 38 (92.7) | 39 (92.9) | 43 (91.5) | 0.83 |
| Education, n (%) | <0.001 | |||
| Low | 68 (93.2) | 47 (52.2) | 9 (9.1) | |
| Medium | 5 (6.8) | 39 (43.3) | 33 (33.3) | |
| High | 0 | 4 (4.4) | 57 (57.6) | |
| Annual household income, n (%) | <0.001 | |||
| Low | 32 (43.8) | 4 (4.4) | 2 (2.0) | |
| Medium-low | 41 (56.2) | 57 (63.3) | 12 (12.1) | |
| Medium | 0 | 25 (27.8) | 49 (49.5) | |
| Medium-high | 0 | 4 (4.4) | 27 (27.3) | |
| High | 0 | 0 | 9 (9.1) | |
| Medical reimbursement insurance, n (%) | <0.001 | |||
| Without | 66 (90.4) | 59 (65.6) | 42 (42.4) | |
| Low | 7 (9.6) | 22 (24.4) | 37 (37.4) | |
| Medium | 0 | 9 (10.0) | 15 (15.2) | |
| High | 0 | 0 | 5 (5.1) | |
| Occupation, n (%) | <0.001 | |||
| Low | 71 (97.3) | 78 (86.7) | 37 (37.4) | |
| Medium | 2 (2.7) | 12 (13.3) | 58 (58.6) | |
| Higher | 0 | 0 | 4 (4.0) | |
Definition of abbreviations: 6MWD = six-minute walk test distance; BMI = body mass index; BMPR2 = bone morphogenetic protein type II receptor gene; DE = Doppler echocardiography; ERA = endothelin receptor antagonist; IQR = interquartile range; mRAP = mean right atrial pressure; mPAP = mean pulmonary arterial pressure; PDE5 = phosphodiesterase type 5; PVR = pulmonary vascular resistance; RHC = right heart catheterization; WHO FC = World Health Organization functional classification.
*
P values represent the results of one-way analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis test for continuous variables and logistic regression analysis for categorical variables.