Socioeconomic status and carotid atherosclerosis

There is a consistent body of evidence that socioeconomic status (SES) is importantly associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, little information currently exists on the relationship between SES and early manifestations of atherosclerotic vascular disease.

We investigated the association between education, income, and occupation and intima-media thickness (IMT) in a population-based sample of eastern Finnish men. Data from the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study were used to estimate mean IMT across levels of SES in 1140 men. The association between SES and IMT was examined in relation to atherosclerotic risk factors and was also stratified by degree of atherosclerotic progression and was also stratified by degree of atherosclerotic progression and prevalent cardiovascular disease. There were significant, inverse, graded differences between levels of SES and IMT. For education, the age-adjusted mean IMTs for those with primary schooling or less, some high school, and completed high school or more were 0.96, 0.94, and 0.82 mm, respectively. The difference in mean IMT between the most extreme categories of education corresponds to a 15.4% increase in the risk of myocardial infarction. Similar patterns were found for each measure of SES, although the differences between the highest and lowest levels of SES were attenuated by adjustment for risk factors. In men who had no carotid stenosis or nonstenotic plaque and in men who had no indication of prevalent cardiovascular disease, a graded, inverse association between SES and IMT persisted, even after risk factor adjustment.

These findings demonstrate a strong association between SES and atherosclerosis in an unselected population. The results show that this association was mediated by known atherosclerotic risk factors, was evident in the early stages of atherosclerosis, and was apparent in a healthy subgroup. Our findings suggest that the impact of SES is evident early in the natural history of atherosclerotic vascular disease.