Does a Change in Income Change Your Cardiovascular Risk?

Income drops of greater than 50% were independently associated with incident cardiovascular disease in a longitudinal cohort study.

The inverse relationship between socioeconomic status and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is well documented, with higher income (a commonly used proxy for higher socioeconomic status) associated with a lower risk for incident CVD. However, few studies have considered the effects of changes in income. Using data from the ongoing, prospective, cohort study, Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC), researchers grouped 8989 participants (mean age, 53; 20% black; 57% women) into categories based on changes in household income over a mean period of 6 years. Participants were without prevalent stroke, heart failure, or myocardial infarction (MI).

Incident CVD was defined as MI, fatal coronary heart disease, incident heart failure, or stroke. Most …

Reviewing Author

Fatima Rodriguez, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardNovoNordisk; HealthPals; Novartis; Amgen

EquityHealthPals; Carta

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; American Heart Association–Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

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