Domains of Chronic Stress, Lifestyle Factors, and Allostatic Load in Middle-Aged Mexican-American Women

Abstract

BackgroundLittle research has examined how chronic stress in different domains relates to allostatic load (AL).PurposeWe examined the relationship between multiple chronic stressors with AL, and evaluated lifestyle factors as possible mediating factors.MethodsThree hundred one middle-aged Mexican-American women underwent a physical exam and completed measures of lifestyle factors and chronic stress in eight domains. A composite of 12 neuroendocrine, metabolic, cardiovascular, and inflammatory markers represented AL.ResultsChronic work, financial, and caregiving domains related to higher AL scores after adjusting for covariates and other stressors. Lifestyle factors made little contribution to the association between stressors and AL.ConclusionsChronic work, financial, and caregiving stressors are associated with physiological dysregulation in Mexican-American women. This study is among the first to examine multiple domains of chronic stress in relation to AL, in a population that has been understudied in research concerning stress and health.

Sociodemographic, behavioral and genetic determinants of allostatic load in a Swiss population-based study

“…Occupational position was negatively related to AL in women, with women with a low occupational position having a higher risk of high AL than their more advantaged counterparts, in line with results from other studies (Gallo et al, 2011;Juster et al, 2013). However, this association was reversed in men.…”

“…We analyzed the constituting risk factors of AL in groups corresponding to six physiological systems: cardiovascular, metabolism, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), lipidic axis, inflammation and oxidative stress (Gallo et al, 2011;Nicod et al, 2014;Seeman et al, 2010). Compared to the markers usually included in the assessment of AL, we omitted autonomic nervous system parameters (i.e.…”

“…Gallo et al (2011) showed, for example, that moderate alcohol consumption was associated with decreased AL, whereas Crimmins et al (2009) found no association between alcohol intake and AL. Similarly, results for the effect of smoking on AL were inconsistent (Crimmins et al, 2009;Hu et al, 2007).…”

Can high psychological job demands, low decision latitude, and high job strain predict disability pensions? A 12-year follow-up of middle-aged Swedish workers

“…Over time this causes imbalance in the sympatheticadrenal-medullary axis, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and other stress-sensitive systems. In an intermediate stage, there are pathological levels of several biological indicators (a high 'AL index'), which in turn has been shown to predict numerous diseases (Gallo et al 2011). Support for such a pathway being involved in the framework of work-related stress has been found in a number of studies (Gallo et al 2011;Bellingrath et al 2009;Chandola et al 2006).…”

“…In an intermediate stage, there are pathological levels of several biological indicators (a high 'AL index'), which in turn has been shown to predict numerous diseases (Gallo et al 2011). Support for such a pathway being involved in the framework of work-related stress has been found in a number of studies (Gallo et al 2011;Bellingrath et al 2009;Chandola et al 2006). On the other hand, the stressrecovery theory suggests that not only incessant stress stimulation but also insufficient restitution, such as provided by rest, recreation, and sleep, may contribute to a progression of initially reversible psychophysiological reactions of acute stress into multi-system imbalances and subsequent ill-health 13 (Geurts and Sonnentag 2006).…”