BACKGROUND Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is one of the risk factors for cardiovascular (CV) disease and mortality. However, the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and LVH in chronic kidney disease remains unclear.

METHODS Data were collected from the KoreaN Cohort Study for Outcome in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease (KNOW-CKD, NCT01630486 at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov ). Subjects with CKD and aged ≥50 were included. SES was characterized based on monthly income and educational attainment, each of which was divided into three strata. LVH was defined as LV mass/height^2.7 ≥ 47 g/m^2.7 in female and ≥ 50 g/m^2.7 in male. Age, sex, diabetes, CKD stage, body mass index, blood pressure and physical activity were included as covariates.

RESULTS A total of 1361 patients were included. Mean age was 60.9 ± 6.9 years, and 63.2% were men. Higher education level was associated with higher monthly income (P for trend < 0.001). The lowest education level was independently associated with LVH (lower than high school, adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.485, 95% CI 1.069-2.063, P = 0.018; completed high school, adjusted OR 1.150, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.834-1.584, P = 0.394; highest education level as the reference). Monthly income level was marginally associated with LVH after adjusting for covariates ($1500-4500, adjusted OR 1.230, 95% CI 0.866-1.748, P = 0.247; < $1500, adjusted OR 1.471, 95% CI 1.002-2.158, P = 0.049; > $4500; reference).

CONCLUSIONS In the CKD population, lower SES, defined by educational attainment and low income level exhibited a significant association with LVH, respectively. Longitudinal follow-up will reveal whether lower SES is associated with poor CKD outcomes.