Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are one of the most frequent causes of morbidity and death both in men and women. The influence of the following factors on the occurrence and progression of atherosclerosis is well known: hyperten-sion, hypercholesterolaemia, tobacco smoking, obesity, diabetes, age, and sex. As well as the typical risk factors of CVD, there is also a significant association between the incidence of those diseases and socioeconomic status (SES).
Aim: The aim of this study was to establish the correlation between SES status and CVD risk assessed according to the SCORE algorithm.
Methods: The study encompassed 516 participants (207 men and 309 women) aged 40-74 years, who had never been diagnosed with any CVD. The SES was calculated by multiplying the patient's education and net monthly income. The cor-relation between the SES and SCORE was established using linear and logistic regression analysis.
Results: After considering the influence of age, an inverse correlation between the SCORE risk value and the SES index was established, both in the entire group (p = 0.006) and in the men's group (p = 0.007). In the analysis of individual age subgroups, this correlation was demonstrated in the following groups: 55-59-year-olds (p = 0.011), 60-64-year-olds (p = 0.014), and 65-69-year olds (p = 0.034). A similar relationship was established in men aged 65-69 years (p = 0.038) and women aged 40-44 years (p = 0.003). The logistic regression analysis demonstrated that, after considering the influence of age, the odds of the SCORE risk value being ≥ 10% were becoming smaller along with the increase in the SES index value in the entire group (p = 0.048) and in the men's group (p = 0.011). The odds ratio (OR) for the SCORE risk value being ≥ 10% depending on the SES index value was OR = 0.978 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.956-0.999) in the entire group and OR = 0.964 (95% CI 0.938-0.992) in men. Furthermore, we also established that the risk of SCORE ≥ 5% decreased with the increase in the SES index value in the women's group (OR = 0.970; 95% CI 0.941-0.999; p = 0.042).
Conclusions: 1. We demonstrated a statistically significant correlation between the SES and the CVD risk assessed according to the SCORE algorithm. 2. The value of the CVD risk according to SCORE was inversely correlated with SES status.
Keywords: SCORE algorithm; cardiovascular risk; socioeconomic status.