Cardiovascular risk factors of young adults in relation to parental socioeconomic status: the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study

The socioeconomic status (SES) of the family influences the cardiovascular risk status of children and adolescents; however, it is nor as well known w hether parental SES has any effect on the risk factor profile of young adul ts. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relations of differ ent aspects of parental SES, namely occupation, education, income and livin g area, to the common cardiovascular risk factors of their offspring (n = 9 19) aged 18, 21 and 24 years as a part of the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study in 1986. Subjects from farming families and rural areas had the highest serum total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol values, and th e lowest diastolic blood pressure compared with subjects from other occupat ional groups and subjects from urban regions. The diet of young adults from farming families and from rural areas contained more saturated fatty acids and less monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. In addition, the body mass index was lower in subjects from urban regions compared with rur al regions, and physical inactivity was less common in the urban group. Sub jects with the highest parental occupational status smoked less compared wi th those with the lowest status. Parental education related inversely to ph ysical inactivity and directly to dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids. The income level of the family associated positively with frequent inebriation by alcoholic beverages and inversely with the percentage of dietary energy from fat. In conclusion, there were modest inverse associations between dif ferent indicators of the SES of parents and some of the traditional risk fa ctors of their offspring in young adulthood, which may contribute to the fu ture risk of cardiovascular diseases.