Association between socioeconomic level and cardiovascular risk in the Peruvian population

To determine the association between socioeconomic level and the presence of obesity, hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Peruvian population.

Secondary analysis of data from the National Demographic and Family Health Survey ( Encuesta Nacional Demográfica y de Salud Familiar , Endes) from 2018 to 2020. The outcomes were obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The exposure variables were two indicators of socioeconomic status: educational level (< 7 years, 7-11 years, and 12+ years) and wealth index (in tertiles). Models were created using Poisson regression, reporting prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI).

Data from 98,846 subjects were analyzed. Mean age: 45.3 (SD: 16.0) years, and 55.5% were women. The prevalence of obesity was 26.0% (95%CI: 25.4-26.6); of hypertension, 24.9% (95%CI: 24.3-25.5); and of type 2 diabetes mellitus, 4.8% (95%CI: 4.5-5.1). In multivariate model, and compared with those with a low wealth index, those with a high wealth index had a higher prevalence of obesity (PR = 1.49; 95%CI: 1.38-1.62), hypertension (PR = 1.09; 95%CI: 1.02-1.17) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (PR = 1.72; 95%CI: 1.29-2.29). On the other hand, higher educational level was only associated with a reduction in the prevalence of obesity (PR = 0.89; 95%CI: 0.84-0.95).

There is a differential association between the wealth index, educational level and markers of noncommunicable diseases. There is evidence of a positive association between wealth index and obesity, hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus, whereas educational level was only negatively associated with obesity.