Occupational class differences in outcomes after ischemic stroke: a prospective observational study

BACKGROUND: Occupational class is an integral part of socioeconomic status. The studies focused on the occupational difference in ischemic stroke outcome in a Chinese population are limited. We aimed to investigate the associations between occupational class and the prognosis of patients with ischemic stroke in China. METHODS: We included 1484 ischemic stroke participants (mean age: 63.42 ± 11.26 years) from the prospective cohort study: Infectious Factors, Inflammatory Markers and Prognosis of Acute Ischemic Stroke (IIPAIS). Occupational class was categorized into white-collar workers, blue-collar workers and farmers in our study. Study outcomes were cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality within 12 months after ischemic stroke onset. We applied Cox proportional hazard model to evaluate the associations between the occupational class and study outcomes after ischemic stroke. RESULTS: Within 12 months after ischemic stroke, there were 106 (7.5%) cardiovascular events and 69 (4.9%) all-cause deaths. The Kaplan–Meier plots showed that white-collar workers had highest risk of cardiovascular events after 12-month follow-up (Log-rank P = 0.02). Multivariate adjusted hazard ratio and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of farmers versus white-collar workers was 0.43(0.20–0.91) for cardiovascular events. No significant difference showed in blue-collar workers versus white-collar workers, with fully adjusted hazard ratio 0.62(95% CIs, 0.23–1.67). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with white-collar workers, farmers are associated with less risk of cardiovascular events at 12 months after ischemic stroke, while there are no significant differences in blue-collar workers.