title: Gender differences in the association between socioeconomic status and subclinical atherosclerosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study explored the pattern of associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and atherosclerosis progression (as indicated by carotid intima media thickness, CIMT) across gender.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional analysis of a sample of 5474 older persons (mean age 73 years) recruited between 1999 and 2001 in the 3C study (France). We fitted linear regression models including neighborhood SES, individual SES and cardiovascular risk factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CIMT was on average 24 µm higher in men (95% CI: 17 to 31). Neighborhood SES was inversely associated with CIMT in women only (highest versus lowest tertiles: -12.2 µm, 95%CI -22 to -2.4). This association persisted when individual SES and risk factors were accounted for. High individual education was associated with lower CIMT in men (-21.4 µm 95%CI -37.5 to -5.3) whereas high professional status was linked to lower CIMT among women (-15.7 µm 95%CI: -29.2 to -2.2). Adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors resulted in a slightly more pronounced reduction of the individual SES-CIMT association observed in men than in women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this sample, neighborhood and individual SES displayed different patterns of associations with subclinical atherosclerosis across gender. This suggests that the causal pathways leading to SES variations in atherosclerosis may differ among men and women.
authors.affiliation: French School of Public Health, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Grimaud
authors.forename: Annabelle
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lapostolle
authors.forename: Claudine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Berr
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Helmer
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dufouil
authors.forename: Wahida
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kihal
authors.forename: Annick
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alpérovitch
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chauvin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors