Association between childhood socioeconomic status and coronary heart disease risk among postmenopausal women: findings from the British Women's Heart and Health Study.
OBJECTIVE
We assessed the association between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and coronary heart disease among postmenopausal women.


METHODS
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 3444 women aged 60 to 79 years.


RESULTS
There was an independent linear association between childhood and adult SES and coronary heart disease. The association between childhood SES and coronary heart disease was attenuated when we adjusted for insulin resistance syndrome, adult smoking, physical activity, biomarkers of childhood nutrition, and passive smoking.


CONCLUSIONS
The association between adverse childhood SES and coronary heart disease is in part mediated through insulin resistance, which may be influenced by poor childhood nutrition, and in part through the association between childhood SES and adult behavioral risk factors.
Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Canynge Hall, Whiteladies Rd, Bristol, England. d.a.lawlor@bristol.ac.uk
Debbie A
DA
Lawlor
George Davey
GD
Smith
Shah
S
Ebrahim
D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000453:epidemiology; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016387:Women's Health