[Social status and cardiovascular risk factors in Danish males].

In a prospective investigation of a cohort of 504 men from the population studies in Glostrup, the participants were examined at the ages of 40 and 51 years. On both of these occasions, the social status was investigated together with a series of cardiovascular risk factors. The main hypothesis of the investigation was that the risk of cardiovascular disease was greater the lower the social status. This hypothesis was confirmed as regards the following risk factors at the examination at the age of 51 years: Plasma-fibrinogen (p less than 0.001), low stature (p less than 0.001), smoking (p less than 0.05), physical inactivity during leisure time (p less than 0.01), shift work (p less than 0.05), job strain (p less than 0.05), living alone (p less than 0.01) and a poor social network (p less than 0.05). Two factors showed a significantly opposite association with social status: Type A behaviour (p less than 0.001) and physical inactivity during work (p less than 0.001). In many countries, during the past 10-15 years, a tendency towards an even more marked association between social status and the risk factors for cardiovascular disease has been observed. This tendency was not observed in the present investigation.