Relationship between ethnicity and multidisciplinary intervention for young people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases

Abstract

There is growing recognition of the impact of societal factors on health throughout a patient's lifespan. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the impact of racial disparity on health outcomes. We aimed to investigate the association between ethnicity and the multidisciplinary team (MDT) interventions for young people (YP) with complex care needs. This retrospective, single-centre, cross-sectional study was conducted within the department of adolescent and young adult rheumatology at University College Hospital, London, between August 2019 and August 2021. We extracted demographic, clinical and laboratory data. The index of multiple deprivation was extracted from the Office for National Statistics database. R software was used for analysis. We identified 310 YP referred to the MDT with a median age of 18 years (interquartile range 17-19). The female patient to male patient ratio was 2.4. Over a third of our cohort were from deprived areas. Comparison between Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and White ethnic groups revealed significant differences in terms of referral for pain optimisation (p=0.006), social support (p<0.00001), and adherence and non-clinic attendance (p=0.0004). Our findings reveal the importance of quality data for early identification and support of vulnerable YP, particularly those from BAME communities.