The association of race and socioeconomic status with cardiovascular disease indicators among older adults in the health, aging, and body composition study.
OBJECTIVE
We hypothesized that older Black adults would have a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than White adults, as indicated by elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP), low ankle-arm blood pressure index (AAI), and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). But, accounting for a broad interpretation of socioeconomic status (SES) (i.e., education, family income, home ownership, and other assets) would reduce these differences.


METHODS
Data are from the Health, Aging, and Body Composition study, a longitudinal clinical research study of 3,075 well-functioning adults aged 70-79, in which 46% of women and 33% of men are Black. Logistic regression modeled racial and SES differences in CVD indicators.


RESULTS
Being Black was significantly associated with elevated SBP (men only), low AAI, and LVH, and remained significant after accounting for each SES measure. The racial association with CVD was reduced the most by income for elevated SBP in men, other assets for low AAI in women and men, and other assets for LVH in men.


CONCLUSIONS
Contrary to the age-as-leveler theory, being Black was strongly associated with CVD indicators, and accounting for SES did not reduce this association. Whether other SES measures, such as access to care, could explain the racial association remains to be explored.
Rooks
Ronica N
RN
Laboratory of Epidemiology, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. rrooks@umich.edu
Simonsick
Eleanor M
EM
Miles
Toni
T
Newman
Anne
A
Kritchevsky
Stephen B
SB
Schulz
Richard
R
Harris
Tamara
T
D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D001823:Body Composition; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*