Is Childhood Socioeconomic Status Related to Coronary Heart Disease? Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study (1992-2012)

Objective: We investigated the association between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and coronary heart disease (CHD) in older Americans. Method: We used Health and Retirement Study data from 1992 to 2012 to examine a nationally representative sample of Americans aged ≥50 years (N = 30,623). We modeled CHD as a function of childhood and adult SES using maternal and paternal educational level as a proxy for childhood SES. Results: Respondents reporting low childhood SES were significantly more likely to have CHD than respondents reporting high childhood SES. Respondents reporting both low childhood and adult SES were 2.34 times more likely to have CHD than respondents reporting both high childhood and adult SES. People with low childhood SES and high adult SES were 1.60 times more likely than people with high childhood SES and high adult SES to report CHD in the fully adjusted model. High childhood SES and low adult SES increased the likelihood of CHD by 13%, compared with high SES both as a child and adult. Conclusion: Childhood SES is significantly associated with increased risk of CHD in later life among older adult Americans.