Social relationships and allostatic load in the MIDUS study.

Objective: This study examines how the social environment is related to allostatic load (AL), a multisystem index of biological risk.

Method: A national sample of adults (N = 949) aged 34-84 rated their relationships with spouse, family, and friends at 2 time points 10 years apart. At the second time point, participants completed a biological protocol in which indices of autonomic, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic function were obtained and used to create an AL summary score.

Alcohol, tobacco, and nonmedical drug use disorders in U.S. Adults aged 65 years and older: data from the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Objectives: To examine the prevalence, sociodemographic, and health-related correlates of substance use disorders, including alcohol, tobacco, and nonmedical drug use among adults aged 65 years and older.

Design: The 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a cross-sectional survey of a population-based sample.

Setting: The United States.