Association of adiponectin and socioeconomic status in African American men and women: the Jackson heart study.
Recent emphasis has been placed on elucidating the biologic mechanism linking socioeconomic status (SES) to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Positive associations of inflammatory biomarkers provide evidence suggestive of a biologic pathway by which SES may predispose to CVD. African Americans have disproportionately lower SES and have a higher prevalence of CVD risk factors compared to most ethnic/racial groups. Adiponectin (an anti-inflammatory marker) is also lower. The objective of this study was to assess the association of adiponectin with SES among African American men and women using the Jackson Heart Study.



Study sample included 4340 participants. Linear regression was performed separately by SES and stratified by sex. Annual household income and level of education was used as proxies for SES. Crude, age, health behavior and health status adjusted models were analyzed. The main outcome was log-transformed adiponectin.



Men in the lowest income group had significantly higher adiponectin than those in the highest income group in the fully adjusted model (ß/standard error [se], p value = .16/.08, p = .0008. Men with < high school level of education had significantly higher adiponectin in the crude and age adjusted models than those with ≥ college degree (.25/.05, p < .0001; .14/.05/ p = .005, respectively). Women with some college or vocational training in the crude and age adjusted models had lower adiponectin compared to women with ≥ college degree (-.09/.03, p = .004; -.06/.03, p = .04, respectively).



Findings suggest a potential inverse biologic pathway between annual household income and adiponectin among African American men. There was no such finding among women. Findings suggest interventions should be targeted for higher SES African American men to improve adiponectin levels.
Social Epidemiology Research Unit, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Room 7 N320, MSC 1644, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA. sharon.davis@nih.gov.
Sharon K
SK
Davis
Social Epidemiology Research Unit, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Room 7 N320, MSC 1644, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA.
Ruihua
R
Xu
Social Epidemiology Research Unit, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Room 7 N320, MSC 1644, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA.
Pia
P
Riestra
Social Epidemiology Research Unit, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Room 7 N320, MSC 1644, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA.
Samson Y
SY
Gebreab
Social Epidemiology Research Unit, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Room 7 N320, MSC 1644, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA.
Rumana J
RJ
Khan
Social Epidemiology Research Unit, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Room 7 N320, MSC 1644, Bethesda, 20892, MD, USA.
Amadou
A
Gaye
University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, USA.
DeMarc
D
Hickson
University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, USA.
Mario
M
Sims
University of Indiana, School of Public Health, Bloomington, USA.
Aurelian
A
Bidulescu
D052242:Adiponectin / Q000097:blood*; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008922:Mississippi / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
D052242:Adiponectin; D015415:Biomarkers
Adiponectin; African Americans; Biomarkers; Cardiovascular disease; Socioeconomic status