Educational and Socioeconomic Inequality and Cardiovascular Risk in Peru: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Cardiovascular Disease Research

Background:

• Limited data exists on socioeconomic disparities and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in resource-limited regions like Latin America.
• Understanding these disparities is crucial for targeted public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between educational attainment, socioeconomic status (SES), and cardiovascular risk in Peruvian adults.
• To identify key social determinants of cardiovascular health in a Latin American population.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional analysis of 24,048 Peruvian adults from the 2023 Demographic and Family Health Survey.
• Cardiovascular risk estimated using WHO risk charts; education and SES categorized.
• Logistic regression models used to determine odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Main Results:

• 4.7% of adults had high 10-year cardiovascular risk.
• Secondary and higher education were linked to significantly lower odds of high cardiovascular risk (OR: 0.42-0.47) compared to no education.
• No independent association was found between socioeconomic status quintiles and high cardiovascular risk after adjustments.

Conclusions:

• Higher educational attainment is an independent protective factor against high 10-year cardiovascular risk in Peru.
• Socioeconomic status, as measured by quintiles, did not show an independent association with cardiovascular risk in this population.
• Findings emphasize the importance of educational level in cardiovascular health strategies within Latin America.