Area-based socioeconomic status and mortality: the Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health study

Low individual socioeconomic status (SES) is a known risk factor for morbidity and mortality. A related measure is the area-based SES (abSES), which describes the average SES of a region. The association of measures of abSES with morbidity and mortality is less well studied. The Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health study consists of 3316 patients hospitalized for coronary angiography between 1997 and 2000 at a tertiary care centre in...