title: Life-course perspective on socioeconomic differences in carotid atherosclerosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Socioeconomic status (SES) in adulthood is known to be related to carotid atherosclerosis. However, few studies have tried to assess its association with SES from a life-course perspective.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We examined the relationship between SES in childhood and in adulthood and carotid atherosclerosis in a general population of Swedish men and women. Carotid stenosis was determined by B-mode ultrasound. Results showed that women whose fathers' occupations involved unskilled manual labor had higher odds of carotid stenosis than did women whose fathers' occupations involved high- or medium-level nonmanual labor, even after adjustment for adult occupational status and risk factors (odds ratio 1.8, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.8). No such association appeared in men. Furthermore, the impact of life-course SES on atherosclerosis was examined by using an additive measure of one's combined SES during childhood and adulthood. Among women, the odds of carotid stenosis increased with a rise in exposure to low SES during the life-course (P for trend <0.001). In men, no such trend was found.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that the total life-course exposure to low SES, with contributions from childhood and adulthood, seems to play a role in atherogenesis in women. Such a pattern of association could not be shown in men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden. maria.rosvall@smi.mas.lu.se
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosvall
authors.forename: Per-Olof
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Ostergren
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hedblad
authors.forename: Sven-Olof
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Isacsson
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Janzon
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Berglund
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016893:Carotid Stenosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D004651:Employment / Q000145:classification / Q000191:economics; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005220:Fathers / Q000145:classification / Q000193:education; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013548:Sweden