Background and Purpose:Low socioeconomic status is associated with increased morbidity and mortality from stroke. The purpose of this study was to investigat e the association between 4 independent measures of socioeconomic status and mor tality of patients with acute ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack. Met hods:Socioeconomic status was assessed by taking into account levels of educati on, occupation, occupational status, and income. The end point was overall morta lity. We used Cox proportional hazard models to adjust for age, sex, and severit y of stroke on admission. Results:A total of 2606 stroke patients were followed up for a median of 2.5 years. Unskilled workers had a hazard ratio of 1.87 for death after stroke (95%CI, 1.37 to 2.55) and skilled workers had a hazard ratio of 1.61(95%CI, 1.23 to 2.11) compared with white-collar workers.Of 4 income g roups, patients with the second lowest level of income had a hazard ratio of 1.6 0 (95%CI, 1.10 to 2.33) and patients with the third lowest level of income had a hazard ratioof 1.71 (95%CI, 1.25 to 2.32) compared with patients with the highest income. The hazard ratio for death after stroke for early retired patients was 1.75 (95%CI, 1.01 to 3.0 4) compared with stroke patients in the active work force at the time of the eve nt.Conclusions:Socioeconomic status is associated with survival of patients wit h acute stroke after adjustment for age, sex, and severity of stroke. The influe nce of socioeconomic status seems to continue to affect the outcome largely inde pendent of stroke severity. Background and Purpose: Low socioeconomic status is associated with increased morbidity and mortality from stroke. The purpose of this study was to investigat e the association between 4 independent measures of socioeconomic status and mor tality of patients with acute ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack. Met hods: Socioeconomic status was assessed by taking into account levels of educati on, occupation, occupational status, and income. The end point was overall mortal lity. We used Cox proportional hazard models to adjust for age, sex, and severit y of stroke on Unskilled workers had a hazard ratio of 1.87 for death after stroke (95% CI, 1.37 to 2.55) and skilled workers had a hazard ratio of 1.61 (95% CI, 1.23 to 2.11) compared with white-collar workers. Of 4 income g roups, patients with the second lowest level of income had a hazard ratio of 1.6 0 (95% CI, 1.10 to 2.33) and patients wit h the third lowest level of income had a hazard ratio of 1.71 (95% CI, 1.25 to 2.32) compared with patients with the highest income. The hazard ratio for death after stroke for early retired patients was 1.75 (95% CI, 1.01 to 3.0 4) compared with stroke patients in the active work force at the time of the eve nt. Conclusions: Socioeconomic status is associated with survival of patients wit h acute stroke after adjustment for age, sex, and severity of stroke. The influe nce of socioeconomic status seems to continue to affect the outcome largely inde pendent of stroke severity.