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Background: Low socio-economic position (SEP) is a risk factor for multiple health outcomes, but its molecular imprints in the body remain unclear., Methods: We examined SEP as a determinant of serum nuclear magnetic resonance metabolic profiles in ∼30 000 adults and 4000 children across 10 UK and Finnish cohort studies., Results: In risk-factor-adjusted analysis of 233 metabolic measures, low educational attainment was associated with 37 measures including higher levels of triglycerides in small high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and lower levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), omega-3 fatty acids, apolipoprotein A1, large and very large HDL particles (including levels of their respective lipid constituents) and cholesterol measures across different density lipoproteins. Among adults whose father worked in manual occupations, associations with apolipoprotein A1, large and very large HDL particles and HDL-2 cholesterol remained after adjustment for SEP in later life. Among manual workers, levels of glutamine were higher compared with non-manual workers. All three indicators of low SEP were associated with lower DHA, omega-3 fatty acids and HDL diameter. At all ages, children of manual workers had lower levels of DHA as a proportion of total fatty acids., Conclusions: Our work indicates that social and economic factors have a measurable impact on human physiology. Lower SEP was independently associated with a generally unfavourable metabolic profile, consistent across ages and cohorts. The metabolites we found to be associated with SEP, including DHA, are known to predict cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline in later life and may contribute to health inequalities., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.)

Background: South Asians have a 1.5-fold increased stroke mortality compared with Europeans, despite similar blood pressures (BP). We hypothesized that it is the greater hyperglycaemia in South Asians that increases stroke risk, by adversely affecting cerebrovascular haemodynamics., Methods: A population-based sample of 149 Europeans and 151 South Asians underwent metabolic profiling and concurrent measurement of finger BP using a Finapres and middle cerebral artery (MCA) blood flow velocity using transcranial Doppler ultrasound. Cerebrovascular autoregulation, cerebrovascular resistance [resistive index (RI) and pulsatility index (PI)] were calculated. Means of cerebrovascular haemodynamic measures were compared by ethnicity, with the introduction of explanatory variables to a regression model to determine which variable could best account for ethnic differences., Results: Cerebrovascular resistance (RI) was 12.9 × 10(3) (0.9-24.8, P = 0.04) greater in South Asians than Europeans. Systolic, diastolic and mean MCA velocities were also higher in South Asians (mean velocity 41.4 ± 8.0 cm/s vs 38.0 ± 8.0 cm/s, respectively, P = 0.001). Low frequency gain, a measure of autoregulation, was worse in South Asians compared with Europeans (0.50 ± 0.01 cm/s mm/Hg vs 0.45 ± 0.01 cm/s mm/Hg, P = 0.01). RI positively correlated with HbA(1c) (r = 0.184; P < 0.01). Adjustment for BP could not explain the higher RI in South Asians, but adjustment for HbA(1c) abolished the ethnic difference in RI (5.8 × 10(3) (-6.5 to 18.1, P = 0.4)., Conclusions: Cerebrovascular resistance and autoregulation are worse in South Asians than in Europeans, despite equivalent resting BP. The greater hyperglycaemia in South Asians accounts for their adverse cerebrovascular resistance. This could explain excess stroke in South Asians but requires testing in longitudinal studies.