Association of socioeconomic status with arterial stiffness in older African American and White Adults: The ARIC Study Cohort

Abstract

BackgroundThe contributions of traditional CVD risk factors do not fully explain the racial and socioeconomic disparities in arterial stiffness. The extent to which the association of socioeconomic status (SES) with subclinical CVD is different for older African American and White adults is unclear.Methods and ResultsCross-section associations of individual SES [education and income] with carotid femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), a subclinical marker of arterial stiffness, and modification of this relationship by race were examined among 3,342 participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study (age=75±4.9 years, 64% female, 23% African American, free of CVD in 2011-2013) using multivariable linear regression. Post-graduate education compared to less than high school, was associated with lower cfPWV (less stiffness) in African Americans (β = −1.28 m/s; 95% CI, −1.97, −0.59), but not in Whites (β = −0.69 m/s; 95% CI, −1.39, 0.01). Income ≥$50K as compared to <$25K, was associated with lower cfPWV both in African Americans (β = −0.82 m/s; 95% CI, −1.42, −0.22) and Whites (β = −0.76 m/s; 95% CI, −1.19, −0.32). However, interaction of race with individual measures of SES on cfPWV in African American and White adults were not statistically significant (p-value for interaction >0.05).ConclusionsHigher SES was cross-sectionally associated with lower arterial stiffness in this cohort; the data did not support differences by race. Prospective studies of SES and cfPWV among a racially socioeconomically diverse cohort merit further study.