title: Allostatic load biomarkers and asthma in adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Allostatic load (AL), a novel measure of the physiologically dysregulated response of the body to stress, represents a biomarker of chronic stress exposure.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether preadolescent children with high AL are more susceptible to asthma as adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a prospective evaluation of children recruited at 7 to 10 years of age in the nested case-control arm of the Study of Asthma, Genes and Environment and followed until 11 to 14 years of age. AL was measured using eight biomarkers: fasting glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, cortisol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and waist-to-hip ratio. AL, created from the sum of biomarkers in a high-risk quartile, was related to prevalence and incidence of asthma using logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 352 participants followed until 11 to 14 years of age, prevalent asthma was four times more likely in boys with high (>3) versus low (≤2) AL after adjusting for current asthma/atopy, age, ethnicity, parental history of asthma, and overweight status. Similar results were observed in the analysis of new-onset asthma in boys (adjusted odds ratio, 4.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.19-15.9). In girls, there were no associations between AL and asthma. In the analysis of a subset of biomarkers, combinations of total cholesterol, glucose, and cortisol were associated with similar or greater risk of asthma prevalence or onset in boys.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AL and its biomarkers are associated with an increased likelihood of asthma in adolescent boys. The observed association between AL and asthma may be attributable to a combined subset of AL biomarkers.
authors.affiliation: 3-547, Edmonton Clinic Health Academy (ECHA), 11405-87 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1C9 Canada. bahreini@ualberta.ca
authors.forename: Salma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bahreinian
authors.forename: Geoff D C
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Ball
authors.forename: Timothy K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Vander Leek
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Colman
authors.forename: Brian J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: McNeil
authors.forename: Allan B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Anita L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Kozyrskyj
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D052636:Allostasis / Q000502:physiology; D001249:Asthma / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001786:Blood Glucose; D008075:Lipoproteins, HDL; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; D002784:Cholesterol; D006854:Hydrocortisone