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Research report
Socioeconomic position and markers of adiposity among female teachers in Mexico
  1. Kelly A Hirko1,
  2. Martin Lajous2,
  3. Eduardo Ortiz-Panozo2,
  4. Ruy Lopez-Ridaura2,
  5. Paul J Christine3,
  6. Felice Lȇ-Scherban4,
  7. Megan S Rice5,
  8. Tonatiuh Barrientos-Gutierrez2
  1. 1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, Traverse City, Michigan, USA
  2. 2Center for Population Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico
  3. 3Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  4. 4Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
  5. 5Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Tonatiuh Barrientos-Gutierrez, Center for Population Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico; tbarrientos{at}insp.mx

Abstract

Background Occupation is often used as an indicator of socioeconomic position (SEP) in epidemiological studies, although it is unclear whether variation in SEP within a single occupational group is associated with health outcomes, including adiposity measures.

Methods We created a multidimensional SEP index using principal component analysis based on self-reported data from 36 704 female teachers in Mexico from 2008 to 2011. Multivariable Poisson regression models with robust variance were used to evaluate cross-sectional associations of SEP and markers of adiposity, including obesity (body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2), elevated waist-to-hip ratio (WHR >85) and high waist circumference (WC >88 cm).

Results The most relevant indicators of SEP in this study were internet access and private health insurance. We observed significant inverse trends in obesity, WHR and WC in relation to SEP (all ptrend<0.001). Compared with women with low SEP, women in the middle (prevalence ratio (PR) 0.97, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.02) and high (PR 0.85, 95% CI 0.81 to 0.90) SEP tertiles were less likely to be obese in multivariable models. Results were similar in models of WHR and WC adjusting for BMI. For example, women with high versus low SEP were 14% less likely to have an elevated WHR (PR 0.86, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.89) and 7% less likely to have a high WC (PR 0.93, 95% CI 0.89 to 0.97).

Conclusions Our findings suggest that SEP remains relevant for adiposity within a single occupational setting and indicate that a stronger conceptualisation of SEP in epidemiological studies may be warranted.

  • socioeconomic position
  • adiposity
  • obesity
  • principal component analysis
  • occupation

https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2017-209179

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors KAH, ML and TBG conceived and designed the study. KAH conducted the data analysis and drafted the manuscript. ML, EOP, RLR, PJC, FLS, MSR and TBG advised on data analysis and provided critical review of the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript draft.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Ethics approval Human research committee at the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico and the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.