Childhood Socioeconomic Status and the MEtabolic Syndrome

[摘要] Variation in socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and its associated risk factors, with most studies focusing on individuals' current SES. Here, we examine whether childhood SES may be similarly associated with the metabolic syndrome and its component risk factors in a community sample of nonpatient volunteers. Subjects were 843 participants from the University of Pittsburgh Adult Health and Behavior project (age: 30-54 yrs., 51% female, 89% Caucasian/11% African-American). Childhood SES was defined by parental educational attainment and current SES was measured by subjects' years of education. The presence of the metabolic syndrome was identified according to both National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. Logistic and linear regression analyses accounting for age, sex, and race showed parental education was a significant independent predictor of the metabolic syndrome in women (OR = 0.87; 95% CI = 0.79, 0.97; p = 0.008) but not in men (OR = 1.06; 95% CI = 0.89, 1.27; p = 0.527) after controlling for subjects' own education. Thus, a one year increase in parental education was found to predict a thirteen percent decreased likelihood of developing the metabolic syndrome in women after adjustment for both covariates and subjects' education level. Parental education was also a significant predictor of several metabolic syndrome risk factors in women (systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides) and one risk factor in men (HDL cholesterol). Therefore, it appears that childhood SES, as indexed by parental education, is an important independent predictor of increased cardiovascular risk in middle aged adults in this sample, particularly women.

[发布机构] the University of Pittsburgh

[效力级别] coronary heart disease