AUTHOR=Hoes Joske , Boef Anna G. C. , Knol Mirjam J. , de Melker Hester E. , Mollema Liesbeth , van der Klis Fiona R. M. , Rots Nynke Y. , van Baarle Debbie 

TITLE=Socioeconomic Status Is Associated With Antibody Levels Against Vaccine Preventable Diseases in the Netherlands

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00209

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2018.00209

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> We investigated whether low socioeconomic status (SES), which is associated with reduced health and life expectancy, might play a role in increased risk for infectious diseases. Therefore, we explored the association between SES and immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels against various pathogens.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> We analyzed the association between SES [educational level and net household income (NHI)] and serum IgG concentration against measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, Haemophilus influenzae type B (HiB), pneumococcus, meningococcus serogroup C (MenC), and cytomegalovirus (CMV) collected within a national cross-sectional serosurvey (2006/2007) using linear regression analyses among non-vaccinated individuals.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Higher educational level was associated with higher IgG concentrations against measles (GMC ratio 1.34, 95% CI 1.18–1.53) and rubella (1.13, 1.02–1.25) compared to low education level. In contrast, higher education level was associated with lower IgG concentrations against pneumococcus (0.78, 0.70–0.88), MenC (0.54, 0.44–0.68), and CMV (0.23, 0.18–0.31) compared to low education level. This pattern was also evident when NHI was used as SES indicator.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Our study suggests that socioeconomic status is associated with antibody levels in a pathogen-dependent manner. The results suggest that differences in serological response upon infection or differences in exposure might be involved in the variation in IgG levels between SES groups.</p>