Background/Purpose: Socioeconomic position (SEP) across the lifecourse has been convincingly identified as a determinant of health. In particular, mounting evidence suggests that low current and childhood SEP are associated with higher risks of cardiovascular disease and autoimmune disorders. In contrast, relatively few studies have investigated the relationship between SEP and arthritis, with childhood SEP being particularly untested as a potential risk factor for the disease. The purpose of this study is to determine the associations of childhood and current SEP with the presence of arthritis.

Methods: Our data came from the North Carolina Family Medicine Research Network (NC-FM-RN), a practice-based research network of 22 family medicine practice selected to represent the geographic and racial/ethnic diversity of North Carolina. In 2006, the Individual and Community Social Determinants of Arthritis Outcomes study invited NC-FM-RN participants to complete a phone survey assessing demographics, health status, chronic health conditions, health attitudes and beliefs, and perceptions of neighborhood environment. Participants who provided complete sociodemographic and relevant health information were retained in our sample (n = 1302). We created three-levels (high[referent], medium, low) summary measures for current and childhood SEP accounting for education, homeownership and occupational class, using parental SEP as a proxy for participants’ childhood SEP. Logistic regression models were carried out to assess the associations between arthritis status and SEP variables separately and together, adjusting for known covariates.

Results: Our sample included 929 females (70.65%) and 210 males (29.35%). The mean age was 56.94 years old (23-94), and 782 respondents had self-reported doctor-diagnosed arthritis. 485 (37.25%) participants received a high current SEP summary score, while 578 (44.39%) had a medium current SEP and 239 (18.36%) a low current SEP. Summary scores were lower for the childhood SEP measure: 195 (14.98%) participants scored in the high childhood SEP level, 447 (34.33%) did in the medium level, and 660 (50.69%) had a low childhood SEP. Arthritis was more likely in participants with medium current SEP, OR=1.41 (95% CI= [1.06, 1.88]), and low current SEP, OR=1.96 (95% CI= [1.32, 2.90]) and somewhat more likely in respondents with low childhood SEP, OR=1.32 (95% CI= [1.02, 1.71]). Childhood SEP was not associated with arthritis in the model including both current and childhood SEP as explanatory variables, while current SEP remained significantly associated with arthritis at both the medium and low levels.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that while there was a robust association between current SEP and arthritis susceptibility in our sample, the association of childhood SEP with arthritis was relatively weak. Studies should investigate whether our results consistently appear in larger populations with clinically documented arthritis. Additionally, further research could focus on arthritis-type specific associations with SEP, considering the broad range of joint disease encompassed by arthritis.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/associations-of-current-and-early-life-socioeconomic-positions-with-risk-of-self-reported-doctor-diagnosed-arthritis-in-a-family-medicine-cohort-of-north-carolinians/