Subjective Social Status and Cardiometabolic Risk Markers by Intersectionality of Race/Ethnicity and Sex Among U.S. Young Adults

Citation

McClain, A. C.; Gallo, L. C.; & Mattei, J. (2021). Subjective Social Status and Cardiometabolic Risk Markers by Intersectionality of Race/Ethnicity and Sex Among U.S. Young Adults. Ann Behav Med. , PMCID: PMC9116590

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Subjective social status (SSS) has shown inverse relationships with cardiometabolic risk, but intersectionalities of race/ethnicity and sex may indicate more nuanced relationships. PURPOSE: To investigate associations of SSS with cardiometabolic risk markers by race/ethnicity and sex. METHODS: Data were from Wave IV (2008) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 4,847; 24-32 years), which collected biological cardiometabolic risk markers. A 10-step ladder captured SSS; respondents indicated on which step they perceived they stood in relation to other people in the U.S. higher values indicated higher SSS (range: 1-10). We tested the relationship between SSS and individual markers using generalized least square means linear regression models, testing three-way interactions between SSS, race/ethnicity, and sex (p < .10) before stratification. RESULTS: SSS-race/ethnicity-sex interactions were significantly associated with waist circumference (p ≤ .0001), body mass index (BMI; p ≤ .0001), systolic blood pressure (SBP; p ≤ .0001), diastolic blood pressure (DBP; p = .0004), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C; p = .07). SSS was associated with waist circumference (β [SE]: -1.2 (0.4), p < .05) and BMI (-0.6 [0.2], p < .01) for non-Hispanic White females, compared with males; with HDL-C among non-Hispanic White (0.2 [0.1]; p < .05) and Hispanic (0.3 (0.1); p < .05) females, compared with males; with SBP for non-Hispanic Asian (1.7 [0.8]; p < .05) and Multiracial (1.8 [0.8]; p < .05), versus White, females; and with DBP for non-Hispanic Black (0.8 [0.3]; p < .01), versus White, males. CONCLUSIONS: SSS was differentially related to cardiometabolic risk markers by race/ethnicity and sex, suggesting intersectional aspects. Clinical and research applications of SSS should consider race/ethnicity- and sex-specific pathways influencing cardiometabolic risk.

URL

https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kaab025

Keyword(s)

Cardiovascular risk

Notes

1532-4796 McClain, Amanda C Gallo, Linda C

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

Ann Behav Med

Author(s)

McClain, A. C.
Gallo, L. C.
Mattei, J.

Year Published

2021

DOI

10.1093/abm/kaab025

PMCID

PMC9116590

Reference ID

5805