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Socioeconomic Status, Antioxidant Micronutrients, and Correlates of Oxidative Damage: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study

From the Department of Psychology (D.J.-D., S.C.), Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Psychiatry (K.A.M.), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (M.D.G.), School of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; and the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health (D.R.J.), School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Department of Nutrition, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Denise Janicki-Deverts; Department of Psychology, Caregie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213. E-mail: djanicki{at}andrew.cmu.edu

Objective: To examine whether socioeconomic status (SES) (education, occupation, income), is associated both cross sectionally and prospectively with circulating concentrations of a) two correlates of oxidative damage, F₂-isoprostanes (F₂-IsoPs) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT); and b) antioxidant nutrients (ascorbic acid and carotenoids). We also examine whether the proposed associations are mediated by smoking, alcohol consumption, and depression. Risk for chronic disease increases with decreasing SES. One pathway by which low SES might influence disease risk is by promoting oxidative stress.

Methods: Data from 1278 participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study were used to examine the association of SES with oxidation correlates and antioxidant nutrients. Education, occupation, health behaviors, and body mass index (BMI) were assessed during Years 0, 10, and 15 of the study; income and depression were evaluated at Years 10 and 15. F₂-isoprostanes were measured at Year 15, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) at Years 0 and 10, carotenoids at Years 0 and 15, and ascorbic acid at Years 10 and 15.

Results: Cross sectionally, oxidation correlates decreased and antioxidant nutrients increased with increasing SES, estimated in several ways, independent of age, sex, race, and BMI. Prospectively, lower Year 0 education and occupation predicted greater increases in GGT and greater decreases in carotenoids over 10 to 15 years. Prospective associations of Year 0 SES with Year 15 carotenoids were independent of Year 15 SES. Smoking, drinking, and depression symptoms partially mediated these effects.

Conclusions: Circulating oxidation correlates increase and antioxidant nutrients decrease with decreasing SES, both cross sectionally and prospectively.

Key Words: socioeconomic status • oxidative stress • antioxidants • prospective • CARDIA

Abbreviations: BMI = body mass index; CARDIA = Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults; GGT = gamma-glutamyltransferase; F₂-IsoPs = F₂-isoprostanes; SEI = Stevens and Cho Socioeconomic Index; SES = socioeconomic status; SE = standard error.