Income, education and their impact on treatments and survival in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.

Objectives: To assess whether socioeconomic indices such as income and educational level can explain part of the variation in survival among patients with myelodysplastic syndromes, and further to assess whether these factors influence care and treatment decisions.

Methods: Population-based cohort study on 2945 Swedish patients diagnosed between 2009 and 2018 and included in the Swedish MDS Register. Relative mortality was assessed by Cox regression, whereas treatment differences were assessed by Poisson regression. Regarding mortality, patients were also compared to a matched comparison group from the general population.

Results: Mortality was 50% higher among patients in the lowest income category compared to the highest and 40% higher in patients with mandatory school education only compared to those with college or university education. Treatment with hypomethylating agents and allogeneic stem cell transplantation, as well as investigation with cytogenetic diagnostics were also linked to income and education. The findings were not explained by differences in risk class or comorbidity at the time of diagnosis.

Conclusions: Income and education are linked to survival among patients with myelodysplastic syndromes. Socioeconomic status also seems to influence treatment intensity as patients with less income and education to a lesser degree receive hypomethylating agents and transplants.