Higher neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES) is associated with lower infection hospitalization rates, but there is no association with sepsis among those hospitalized. This according to a prospective cohort study using data from 30,239 participants in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study that examined the association between nSES and hospitalization for infection and sepsis. Infection and sepsis hospitalizations were identified from 2003-2012. Researchers found:

• There were 3,054 hospitalizations for serious infection over a median follow-up of 6.5 years.
• Infection incidence was lower for those in the highest nSES quartile vs the lowest quartile (11.7 vs 15.6 per 1,000 person-years); infections hazards were also lower for the highest quartile after adjustments for demographics, comorbidities, and functional status.
• However, there was no association between nSES and sepsis among those hospitalized with infection.