Atheromatous risk factors among Thai labor forces by socioeconomic status.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe atheromatous risk factors among Thai labor forces by socioeconomic status (SES) such as income, education and occupation. Undesirable levels of artheromatous risk factors were specified as: total serum cholesterol (TC) > 200 mg per cent, body mass index (BMI) > 25 kg/m2, fasting blood sugar (FBS) > 126 mg/dL, systolic blood pressure (SBP) > 140 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) > 90 mmHg. Data from the Second National Health Examination survey in Thailand from 1996 to 1997 was used, with a total number of 4,198 participants (1,634 males, 2,561 females) aged 13-60 years old. Results from multivariate analysis demonstrated differences in means TC, BMI, SBP and DBP among different age-groups, both in males and females (p < 0.001). TC, BMI, and SBP increased with age in both sexes, but DBP increased with age in females only. Males who lived in a municipality had a higher risk of having undesirable TC and DBP than those who did not. Risk of undesirable BMI varied according to levels of income in males. Males with an income of 5,001-10,000 and > 25,000 baht/month had OR = 1.57 (95% CI = 1.04-2.39) and OR = 2.59 (95% CI = 1.18-5.66) compared to males with an income of < 5,000 baht/month. TC and DBP varied with levels of income in females. For undesirable TC, females with an income of 5,001-10,000 and > 25,000 baht/month had OR = 1.48 (95% CI = 1.01-2.18) and OR = 2.17 (95% CI = 1.03-4.88) compared to females with an income of < 5,000 baht/month. For undesirable DBP, females with an income > 25,000 baht/month had OR = 3.39 (95% CI = 1.31-8.78) compared to females with income an < 5,000 baht/month. Among different levels of education in males, different risks of undesirable TC, BMI, SBP and DBP were not significant, except a borderline significance in TC among vocational graduates. The same phenomenon was observed among females, except that females only a primary education tended to have a higher risk of undesirable BMI (OR = 2.64, 95% CI = 1.39-5.02) compared to females with graduate studies. The level of occupation seemed not to affect the risk of unfavorable atheromatous risk factors among males. Nonetheless, females in the agricultural section seemed to have a lower risk of undesirable TC (OR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.18-0.78) compared to the professional group. The results suggested the consideration of critical guidance of epidemiological studies in using SES as the control variable, or for selection of subjects or matching criteria. Specific preventive programs on atheromatous risk factors should be launched for some specific socio-demographic groups in order to prevent coronary heart diseases (CHD) in the future.