The relationship between socioeconomic status and cardiovascular events

The aim of the article was to study the relation between socioeconomic factors and mortality from CVS diseases. The study was performed among 346 native Indians (260 males and 86 females), aged 41-54 years and employed by the Civil Service. The study was carried out during 7 years. At 24 months of follow-up, 281 of 346 subjects (81.2%) had blood pressure progression. Subjects in the highest category of education or income had a 16 and 11% lower risk of cardiovascular events when compared with those in the lowest education or income category, respectively. The study demonstrates that socioeconomic status is a powerful and independent predictor of blood pressure progression and cardiovascular event in initially healthy persons. In this population, education was a more robust indicator of incident hypertension than income. It was found that obese persons with primary education did not have a higher risk of blood pressure progression or cardiovascular event than their counterparts with high school education. Finally, our findings indicate that even in this well-educated cohort, socioeconomic status as measured by education and income remains an important determinant of hypertension.