title: Domains of chronic stress, lifestyle factors, and allostatic load in middle-aged Mexican-American women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little research has examined how chronic stress in different domains relates to allostatic load (AL).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We examined the relationship between multiple chronic stressors with AL, and evaluated lifestyle factors as possible mediating factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three 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.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Chronic 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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chronic 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, CA 92123, USA. lcgallo@sciences.sdsu.edu
authors.forename: Linda C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.forename: Jessica A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jiménez
authors.forename: Smriti
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shivpuri
authors.forename: Karla
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Espinosa de los Monteros
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Mills
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D052636:Allostasis; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D002140:California / Q000208:ethnology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D016014:Linear Models; D017058:Mexican Americans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers