Socioeconomic status and coronary heart disease risk factors and mortality: Married residents, three counties, Norway

The socioeconomic gradient in coronary heart disease risk factors and mortality was examined in a popu-lation-based cohort attending a cardiovascular screening between 1977 and 1983 in three counties in Norway. The inverse socioeconomic gradient in many risk factors was stronger in women than in men and often stronger in non-smokers than smokers, particularly among women. In prospective analyses, adjusting for age and smoking, income was a significant predictor of coronary heart disease mortality among both sexes, and after controlling for numerous risk factors, income remained a significant predictor of coronary heart disease mortality among women, but not in men. The results suggest that the socioeconomic gradient in coronary heart disease risk may be stronger among women than men, and that differences in coronary heart disease risk is likely to persist even with reductions in smoking in populations of low socioeconomic status