Objectives: We examined the social patterning of cumulative dysregulation of multiple systems, or allostatic load, among African Americans adults.
Methods: We examined the cross-sectional associations of socioeconomic status (SES) with summary indices of allostatic load and neuroendocrine, metabolic, autonomic, and immune function components in 4048 Jackson Heart Study participants.
Results: Lower education and income were associated with higher allostatic load scores in African American adults. Patterns were most consistent for the metabolic and immune dimensions, less consistent for the autonomic dimension, and absent for the neuroendocrine dimension among African American women. Associations of SES with the global allostatic load score and the metabolic and immune domains persisted after adjustment for behavioral factors and were stronger for income than for education. There was some evidence that the neuroendocrine dimension was inversely associated with SES after behavioral adjustment in men, but the immune and autonomic components did not show clear dose-response trends, and we observed no associations for the metabolic component.
Conclusions: Findings support our hypothesis that allostatic load is socially patterned in African American women, but this pattern is less consistent in African American men.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3371088 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300444 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Stress and Strain: Differentiating the Responses to High and Moderate Heat Loads and Subsequent Recovery in Grain-Fed Feedlot Steers-Metabolic Hormones.
Animals (Basel)
January 2025
School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia.
The extent of endocrine changes in response to various levels of heat stress and subsequent recovery is not well understood. Two cohorts of 12 Black Angus steers were housed in climate-controlled rooms (CCR) and subjected to three thermal periods: PreChallenge (5 d), Challenge (7 d) and Recovery (5 d). PreChallenge and Recovery provided thermoneutral conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCardiovascular risk and allostatic load in PTSD: The role of cumulative trauma and resilience in affected and trauma-exposed adults.
J Psychiatr Res
January 2025
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa; South African Medical Research Council Genomics of Brain Disorders Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
Background: The pathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involves dysregulation of stress-sensitive biological systems due to repeated trauma exposure, predisposing individuals to the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Allostatic load (AL), an indicator of maladaptive stress responses, could shed light on the underlying biological mechanisms. We determined whether CVD risk and AL were associated with trauma load and resilience in women with PTSD and trauma-exposed controls (TEC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJoint Effects of Lifestyle Habits and Heavy Metals Exposure on Chronic Stress Among U.S. Adults: Insights from NHANES 2017-2018.
J Xenobiot
January 2025
Department of Built Environment, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC 27411, USA.
Background: Chronic stress, characterized by sustained activation of physiological stress response systems, is a key risk factor for numerous health conditions. Allostatic load (AL), a biomarker of cumulative physiological stress, offers a quantitative measure of this burden. Lifestyle habits such as alcohol consumption and smoking, alongside environmental exposures to toxic metals like lead, cadmium, and mercury, were individually implicated in increasing AL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIncreased Rate of Unique Mitochondrial DNA Deletion Breakpoints in Young Adults With Early-Life Stress.
Biol Psychiatry Glob Open Sci
March 2025
Initiative on Stress, Trauma, and Resilience, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
Background: Mounting evidence suggests that mitochondria respond to psychosocial stress. Recent studies suggest mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions may be increased in some psychiatric disorders, but no studies have examined early-life stress (ELS) and mtDNA deletions. In this study, we assessed mtDNA deletions in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of medically healthy young adults with and without ELS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCorrelates of impaired sleep duration among adults with trauma alone and with posttraumatic stress disorder.
Psychol Trauma
January 2025
VA New England Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, VA Connecticut Health Care System.
Objective: To elucidate the relationship between impaired sleep duration and trauma/posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) net of sociodemographic, behavioral, and comorbid diagnostic factors.
Method: We investigated this relationship using the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III data set, analyzing a nationally representative sample of 36,309 adults. Our study identified three groups: those without trauma/PTSD, those with trauma but no PTSD, and those with PTSD.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!