Role of Plasma Proteins in the Association Between Socioeconomic Status and Cardiovascular Disease Events: Results From Trans‐Omics for Precision Medicine Cohorts
Year: 2026
Type: review
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Socioeconomic status (SES) is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease burden and risk. Plasma proteins may elucidate a biological mechanism through which low SES increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. METHODS: Participants from the following 3 cohorts were included: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (n=2139), Jackson Heart Study (n=967), and Women's Health Initiative (n=1104). SES was approximated using a cumulative score (range 0-3) across education, income, and employment status. A meta-analysis of Cox proportional hazards ratios was used to assess the association between SES and incident events for coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. Linear regression was used within each cohort to determine associations between SES and Olink proteins (n=1270 proteins) and the results were meta-analyzed across cohorts. Regression-based mediation analysis was used to determine whether the identified proteins were statistical mediators of the association of SES and incident events. RESULTS: ), 233 proteins were associated with SES in the meta-analysis. Of these 233 proteins, 21 had a significant indirect effect on SES and CHD. Because the SES-stroke association was not statistically significant, proteins were not tested as mediators. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis of multiple cohorts identified evidence of different proteomic pathways associated with SES and cardiovascular disease. This work suggests that exogenous social factors (eg, SES) may influence cardiovascular disease via proteomic profiles.
Authors: LáShauntá M. Glover, Madeline G. Gillman, Michael D. Green, Sara N. O'Brien, Ramon Casanova, James S. Floyd, Charles Kooperberg, Michelle C. Odden, Stephen S. Rich, Jerome I. Rotter, Amil Shah, Hilary A. Tindle, Alexis C. Wood, Robert Gerszten, Alexander Reiner, Lorena Garcia, Yanwei Cai, Tomi Akinyemiju, Emily C. O'Brien, Mario Sims, Laura M. Raffield
Institutions: Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Wake Forest University, University of Washington, Stanford University, University of Virginia, The Lundquist Institute, Harbor–UCLA Medical Center, Vanderbilt University, VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Baylor College of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Fred Hutch Cancer Center, University of California, Riverside
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,810
OpenAlex ID: W7223274477