The Potential Role of Physical Activity in the Association Between Socioeconomic Status and Arterial Stiffness Among Healthy Young Adults

Purpose: Socioeconomic status (SES), defined by household income, education level, and various occupations, reflects access to resources that influence health behaviors. Lower SES is linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) due to various lifestyle factors such as chronic stress, limited access to healthcare, and physical activity (PA). Among these factors, PA strongly explains CVD related mortality, and lower SES groups are often limited in their ability to participate in regular PA. Thus, SES-induced PA disparities may explain the relationship between SES and CVDs. Arterial stiffness is rigidness of arteries and a strong early indicator of cardiovascular health and future CVD mortality. However, how SES-induced PA influences arterial stiffness in young adults has not been investigated. Early detection of arterial stiffness augmentation in lower SES healthy young population will contribute to the development of early intervention strategies to reduce future CVDs and its related mortality. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between SES and arterial stiffness among healthy young adults, and to determine whether PA contributes to this association. Methods: Twenty-four healthy young participants were recruited (M/F=8/16, 20 ± 2 yrs, MAP: 79.6 ± 9.5 mmHg, BMI: 23.8 ± 3.2 kg/m 2 ). Participants underwent pulse wave analysis (PWA) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurements to record arterial stiffness. SES was determined using annual household income. PA was quantified based on self-reported leisure time activity (MET) using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Using ordinary least square (OLS), we estimated the effects of SES on arterial stiffness as a base model. In addition to the base model, PA variables were included to test whether PA contributes to the relationship between SES and arterial stiffness. Results: Current data indicates a significant negative relationship between household income and both Alx (p=0.025) and Alx75 (p=0.018). PWV also shows a negative but non-significant association with SES (p=0.815). Higher PA was associated with lower Alx and Alx75. However, it was not statistically significant (Alx: p=0.87, Alx75: p=0.13). Conclusion: These findings suggest that lower SES is associated with greater arterial stiffness and may indicate elevated CVDs risk even in healthy young adults. But PA did not significantly explain this relationship. Further studies with a larger sample size with objective measurement of PA measurements (e.g., wearable devices) are needed to confirm these relationships and clarify the potential moderating role of PA. This research is supported by the Chevron SURE Program and the STEM-NET Faculty Interdisciplinary Collaborative Research SEED Grant Program #3132597-SG-2024-1 This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2026 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.