Browsing by Author "Göransson, Sara"

Objectives. Low socioeconomic status (SES) is related to cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, an association with left ventricular mass and diastolic function has been recognized in some studies. However, due to limited research potential mediators of these associations are not currently known. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the association of adulthood SES (education, income, occupation, and combined, cumulative SES-variable) with left ventricular mass and diastolic function. BMI and systolic blood pressure were assessed as potential mediators. Methods. The longitudinal data for the study (n=1296) was drawn from a Finnish population-based follow-up study The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns. SES-indicators were assessed in 2001, with the exception of income, which was assessed in 2007. BMI and systolic blood pressure were measured in 2007. Left ventricular mass and diastolic function were measured with echocardiography in 2011. Left ventricular mass (g/m2.7) was defined as a ratio of ventricular mass and participants height raised to allometric power of 2.7. Diastolic function (E/e’) was defined as a ratio of transmitral flow velocity and tissue velocity. Causal mediation analysis was used to evaluate, whether BMI and systolic blood pressure mediate the associations between adulthood SES and the left ventricular mass and diastolic function, when age and gender are controlled. Results and conclusions. Only some of the SES-indicators were related to the left ventricular mass and diastolic function. All combinations of variables that advanced to causal mediation analysis indicated partly mediated associations. The results of this study provide preliminary evidence for the mediating role of systolic blood pressure, and especially BMI, in the association of low adulthood SES with a greater left ventricular mass and diastolic dysfunction.