Parental education associated with immune function in adolescence

Abstract

Background: The immune system is affected and shaped by several internal and external factors. Among the external variables, the socioeconomic status is known to influence the immune system since the early years of life and throughout life. Methods: In this study, we assessed the relationship between parental education with the white blood cells and its subtypes in 1213 adolescents from the EPITeen cohort, assessed at the age of 13. Beta coefficients (β) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were fitted using linear regression models to quantify the association and were adjusted for sex, body mass index and chronic disease. Results: After adjustment, parental education presented a negative association with white blood cells, which was significant among those with higher high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) median levels [−0.05 mg/l (95% CI −0.08, −0.01)]. On the contrary, a positive association with lymphocytes was observed, which was, significant among those with lower hs-CRP [0.17 mg/l (95% CI 0.02, 0.32)]. A neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio significant decrease was also observed with the increment of parental education (P<0.001). Conclusion: We found that parental education was positively associated with a higher proportion of lymphocytes and a lower proportion of neutrophils, suggesting that parental education is associated with offsprinǵs innate immune system regulation. These results may contribute to clarify the relationships between childhood socioeconomic status and increased risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes and other immune-related diseases.