Objective: To examine the relationships between socioeconomic status (SES) markers and cardiovascular disease (CVD) within the Indigenous Australian population, and to compare with those seen in the non-Indigenous population.
Methods: I analysed weighted data on self-reported CVD and several SES measures for 5,417 Indigenous and 15,432 non-Indigenous adults aged 18-64 years from two nationally representative surveys conducted in parallel by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2004-05.
Results: After adjusting for age and sex, self-reported CVD prevalence was generally higher among those of lower SES in both the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. The relative odds of CVD were generally similar in the two populations. For example, the relative odds of CVD for those who did not complete Year 10 (versus those who did) was 1.4 (95% CI 1.1-1.8) among Indigenous people and 1.3 (95% CI 1.2-1.5) among non-Indigenous people. However, Indigenous people generally had higher CVD levels than non-Indigenous people of the same age and SES group. Although smoking history varied by SES, smoking did not explain the observed relationships between SES and CVD.
Conclusion: Socioeconomic disparities in CVD among Indigenous Australians are similar in relative terms to those seen in other Australians, but absolute differences remain. As with other population groups, the socioeconomic heterogeneity of the Indigenous population must be considered in developing and implementing programs to promote health and prevent illness. In addition, factors which operate across the SES spectrum, such as racism, stress, dispossession and grief, must also be addressed to reduce the burden of CVD.