Association between Socioeconomic Status and Major Risk Factors of Stroke: Thai Epidemiologic Stroke (TES) Study.

Objective : To investigate the association of socioeconomic status (SES) (education, personal income, and occupation) with four major risk factors of stroke, those are diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and current smoker. Material and Method : The Thai Epidemiologic Stroke Study is a community-based cohort study, which recruited participants from the general population from five geographic regions around the country. Cross-sectional baseline data of 19,997 (6,803 men and 13,194 women) participants, aged 45 to 80 years were included in the present analysis. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to estimate association of socioeconomic indicators with the major risk factors of stroke. Results : SES was associated with a major risk factor of stroke. Among three indicators of socioeconomic status, education was more consistently associated with the risk factors than personal income and occupation, particularly in women. Education significantly inversely associated with diabetes (p = 0.015 in men and 0.002 in women, respectively), and current smoker in both sexes (p<0.001), and with hypertension in women (p = 0.011). By contrast, education was significantly positively associated with hypercholesterolemia in women (p<0.001). Conclusion : The differences in the prevalence of the major risk factors of stroke between SES groups were important, and should be considered in the development of policies or tailored strategies for prevention of stroke. Keywords : Socioeconomic status (SES), Cardiovascular risk factors, Stroke, Epidemiology, Thailand