Socio-economic status, cortisol and allostatic load: a review of the literature

Abstract

Current empirical evidence linking SES to cortisol and AL is weak. Future work should standardize approaches to measuring SES, chronic stress and cortisol to better understand these relationships.

Childhood Poverty and Stress Reactivity Are Associated with Aberrant Functional Connectivity in Default Mode Network

“…However, the collected findings on cortisol and adult SES are inconsistent. SES may have no effect on or may in fact diminish cortisol reactivity to stress in adults (Dowd et al, 2009). This mirrors our own finding that cortisol response to TSST did not vary systematically as a function of childhood income.…”

Origins of heath inequalities: the case for Allostatic Load

“…This I see as a substantial and much--needed conceptual gain for the theory of AL. Sure, references to society and social inequalities have always been present within AL theory, but they have generally taken the form of vague hints to frameworks without a detailed conceptual integration , or empirical examinations (Dowd, Simanek & Aiello, 2009;Szanton, Gill & Allen, 2005). Moreover, in the same way that societal structure has not been the main focus of the theory of AL, formulating specific intermediate links or health outcomes has not been a high priority within ecosocial theory.…”

Social Determinants and the Decline of Cardiovascular Diseases: Understanding the Links

“…Recent reviews of the evidence on psychosocial factors as mediators of the SEP-CVD relation are inconclusive. Dowd and colleagues (41) recently reviewed the literature on SEP and cortisol, thought to be a marker of chronic stress and allostatic load, and did not find any consistent role for cortisol as a mechanism linking SEP and health. A review of the evidence on the contribution of psychosocial factors to health (including CVD) inequalities up to 2003 found much of it inconclusive (104), as does a review of more recent studies (113).…”