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Low childhood socioeconomic status tied to adverse health risks
Low socioeconomic status during childhood may increase the risks for metabolic syndrome, impaired fasting glucose and type 2 diabetes in adulthood, study data show.
“Our results emphasize that special attention should be paid to children of low [socioeconomic stauts] families with the aim to decrease prevalence of [metabolic syndrome] and health inequalities later in life,” Elina Puolakka, of the Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Turku in Finland, told Endocrine Today.
Puolakka and colleagues evaluated data from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study on 2,250 residents of Finland (mean age at baseline, 10.6 years) followed for 31 years to determine the impact of childhood socioeconomic status on the risks for metabolic syndrome, IFG and type 2 diabetes.
Reported annual income of the family was used to determine socioeconomic status, which was classified on an 8-point scale.
A lower risk for metabolic syndrome in adulthood was associated with higher childhood socioeconomic status (RR = 0.93; 95% CI, 0.9-0.97 adjusted for age and sex); it remained significant after adjustment for conventional CV risk factors (RR = 0.94; 95% CI, 0.9-0.98) and after adjustment for the participants’ adulthood socioeconomic status (RR = 0.95; 95% CI, 0.91-0.99).
The risk for IFG or type 2 diabetes was also associated with childhood socioeconomic status (RR = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.92-0.99 adjusted for age and sex). However, the risk for type 2 diabetes alone was not associated with childhood socioeconomic status (RR = 0.92; 95% CI, 0.82-1.02 adjusted for age and sex; RR = 0.95; 95% CI, 0.85-1.06 adjusted for age, sex and conventional CV risk factors).
“Low [socioeconomic status] in childhood is associated with a higher risk for [metabolic syndrome] in adulthood independently of conventional childhood risk factors and one’s own [socioeconomic status] in adulthood,” the researchers wrote. “These results emphasize that special attention should be paid to children of low [socioeconomic status] families with the aim to decrease prevalence of [metabolic syndrome] and health inequalities later in life.” – by Amber Cox
For more information:
Elina Puolakka , can be reached at Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku, Kiinmyllynkatu 10 FIN-20520 Turku, Finland.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.