Socioeconomic Determinants of Cardiovascular Disease: Recent Findings and Future Directions

Abstract

Socioeconomic advantage predicts lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the magnitude of socioeconomic inequalities changes over time and differs between countries. The malleability of socioeconomic inequalities suggests that closing the socioeconomic status (SES) gap in CVD may be a powerful avenue for reducing the global CVD burden. Current evidence indicates that effects of socioeconomic disadvantage accumulate across the life course, with each additional period of disadvantage increasing later CVD risk. Individual, community, and national socioeconomic conditions appear to independently predict development of conventional risk factors and CVD. To translate this evidence into effective public-health interventions, we need more conclusive evidence on the causal components of highly correlated socioeconomic measures and on the major mediators of inequalities.