Aim: To examine the association between socioeconomic deprivation and heart failure outcomes in Maori and non-Maori New Zealanders.
Methods: Retrospective analysis of heart failure mortality and hospital admissions among Maori and non-Maori aged 45 year and older assigned to small area deprivation (NZDep91/96) during the period 1988-1998.
Results: Deprivation was associated with an increase in risk of heart failure deaths and hospitalisations for both Maori and non-Maori. Within all socioeconomic strata, this risk was higher for Maori than non-Maori.
Conclusion: Socioeconomic deprivation was associated with an increased chance of death and hospitalisation from heart failure in New Zealand. Maori disparities in heart failure outcomes do not simply reflect differences in deprivation, however, and further studies are needed to explain the influence of other determinants such as lifecourse and lifestyle exposures, neighbourhood characteristics, access to medical care, and racism.