Socio-economic position and cardiovascular risk factorsin an Italian rural population

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading industrial world cause of mortality. Lower social class groups have higher incidence of CVD and also display less favourable risk factor profiles. To investigate the association and gradient between major cardiovascular risk factors (smoking habit, serum l...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of epidemiology 2001-05, Vol.17 (5), p.449
Main Authors: Maria Fenicia Vescio, George Davey Smith, Giampaoli, Simona
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Angina pectoris
Blood pressure
Body mass index
Body weight
Cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular diseases
Economics
Education
Employment
Health risks
High density lipoprotein
Lipids
Mortality
Obesity
Population
Risk factors
Rural areas
Rural populations
Smoking
Social classes
Socioeconomics
Women
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Summary:Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading industrial world cause of mortality. Lower social class groups have higher incidence of CVD and also display less favourable risk factor profiles. To investigate the association and gradient between major cardiovascular risk factors (smoking habit, serum lipid profile, blood pressure, relative body weight) and socio-economic position (proxy measures selected: education and occupation) data on 2592 men and 2866 women were analysed. The effect of potential confounding factors and effect modifiers was estimated. Linear and logistic regression modelling was performed for continuous and dichotomous outcomes respectively. The lower the grade of employment or the level of education, the higher was the prevalence of obesity in the study population. The association was stronger in women than in men. Higher education was associated with a lower prevalence of smoking among men and a higher prevalence among women. Systolic blood pressure was negatively related to socio-economic position in both men and women in the age-adjusted models. Attention should be concentrated on socio-economic differences in obesity and blood pressure in this population.
ISSN:0393-2990
1573-7284
DOI:10.1023/A:1013752206574