Social class and heart disease mortality among African Americans.

The purpose of the present study was to examine variation in heart disease death rates by the social class of decedents. The term, "social class" refers to a complex set of phenomena such as control over economic resources, social status, and power relative to others in society. The target population for this study was African-American adults aged 35-74 years old who resided in the United States during the years 1996-1997. As a proxy for social class, we examined 5 levels of educational attainment: 0-8 years of school completed (Social Class I), 9-11 years of school completed (Social Class II), high school graduate/12 years of school completed (Social Class III), some college completed (Social Class IV), and college degree completed (Social Class V). Older age, male gender, and lower social class were all independently associated with higher heart disease death rates. For all ages, more disadvantaged social classes had a higher risk of heart disease mortality. The highest relative risks were found for Social Classes I and II among the younger age groups. Many of the "prerequisites" for the "heart healthy lifestyle" are predicated on the benefits of a privileged social class position. For African Americans, there are the additional stressors of segregation, exclusion, and discrimination to overcome, as well as the cumulative physiological toll of lifetime resistance to various forms of racism. For many African Americans in disadvantaged social class positions, the obstacles to reducing the risk for heart disease are very difficult to overcome.