Social circumstances and education: life course origins of social inequalities in metabolic risk in a prospective national birth cohort.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated the relative importance of education and childhood and adult social class in the risk of metabolic syndrome.


METHODS
We conducted a prospective birth cohort study of 1311 men and 1318 women aged 53 years in 1999, when metabolic syndrome components were measured. Logistic regression analyses were used to calculate relative index of inequality estimates.


RESULTS
Relative to men and women at the highest education levels, men (odds ratio [OR]=2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.2, 3.2) and women (OR=2.7; 95% CI=1.5, 4.6) with the least education were at twice the risk or more of having the metabolic syndrome. Adjustment for childhood and adult social class strengthened this result among men and weakened it among women. Childhood social class was independently associated with the metabolic syndrome in women (OR=2.0; 95% CI=1.1, 3.6) but not in men (OR=1.1; 95% CI= 0.7, 1.8). Associations between adult social class and the metabolic syndrome or its components were largely accounted for by childhood socioeconomic measures.


CONCLUSIONS
Educational differences should be considered in the design of interventions aimed at reducing the burden of the metabolic syndrome in socially disadvantaged groups.
Langenberg
Claudia
C
International Centre for Health and Society, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, England, United Kingdom. c.langenberg@ucl.ac.uk
Kuh
Diana
D
Wadsworth
Michael E J
ME
Brunner
Eric
E
Hardy
Rebecca
R
D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003467:Cultural Deprivation; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations / Q000145:classification; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011610:Psychosocial Deprivation; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*