Income Inequality, Gender Disparities, and Ethnic Differences: Investigating Allostatic Load in American Adults.

Aim: To estimate the association between income inequality and allostatic load score (AL) in adults ages 20 years and older, with a particular focus on the differential impacts across racial and gender groups. By examining this association, the study seeks to inform targeted policy interventions to mitigate health disparities exacerbated by economic inequality.

Methods: Utilizing data from the 1999-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), we assessed AL through eight biomarkers: systolic blood pressure (mm Hg), diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg), pulse rate (beats/min), body mass index (kg/m), glycohemoglobin (%), direct HDL cholesterol (mg/dL), total cholesterol (mg/dL), and serum albumin (g/dL).