title: Racial and ethnic patterns of allostatic load among adult women in the United States: findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2004.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study provides a descriptive sociodemographic profile of allostatic load (AL) among adult women of all age groups, focusing on how age patterns of AL vary across racial/ethnic groups. Allostatic load, an index of cumulative physiological dysregulation, captures how the cumulative impact of physiological stress responses from person-environment interactions causes wear and tear on the body's regulatory systems, which in turn can lead to disease outcomes and health disparities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2004, this study examines AL in a nationally representative sample of women ≥18 years of age (n=5765). Measures of AL using 10 biomarkers representing cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic system functioning were created. Multivariate negative binomial regression models were used, and predicted AL scores were computed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Black women had the highest predicted AL scores relative to other racial/ethnic groups, and a marked black/white gap in AL persisted across all age groups. Age by race/ethnicity interaction terms revealed significant racial/ethnic differences in AL patterns across age groups. Black women 40-49 years old had AL scores 1.14 times higher than white women 50-59 years old, suggesting earlier health deterioration. Mexican women not born in the United States had lower predicted AL scores than those born in the United States.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides one of the first descriptive profiles of AL among a nationally representative sample of adult women in the United States and presents racial/ethnic trends in AL across age groups that are useful for identifying demographically and clinically important subgroups at risk of having high cumulative physiological dysregulation.
authors.affiliation: Cells to Society: Center on Social Disparities and Health at the Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. l-chyu@northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chyu
authors.forename: Dawn M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Upchurch
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D052636:Allostasis / Q000502:physiology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers