title: Is self-rated health a stable and predictive factor for allostatic load in early adulthood? Findings from the Nord Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT).
abstract: Self-rated health (SRH) is a widely used health indicator predicting morbidity and mortality in a wide range of populations. However, little is known about the stability and biological basis of SRH. The aim of this study was to map the stability of SRH from adolescence to early adulthood, and to examine the relationships between SRH and biological dysregulation, in terms of allostatic load (AL). The AL score comprises the eleven biomarkers systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), triglycerides, waist-hip ratio (WHR), diabetes risk profile, glucose, C-reactive protein (CRP) and body mass index (BMI). Eleven years prospective data from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT), Norway, were utilised. Baseline data were gathered from 9141 adolescents (mean age 15.9 years) in the Young-HUNT I survey (1995-1997) and follow-up data were gathered from the adult HUNT3 survey (2006-2008). Altogether, 1906 respondents completed both questionnaires and clinical measurements in both studies. Cross-tables for SRH at baseline and follow-up showed that SRH remained unchanged in 57% of the respondents. Only 3% of the respondents changed their ratings by two steps or more on a four-level scale. Further, linear regression analyses adjusted for age and gender revealed that SRH in adolescence predicted AL in young adulthood. Similar patterns were found for most of the individual biomarkers. The consistency found in SRH from adolescence to young adulthood, and its association with AL across time, indicate that routines for dealing with SRH early in life may be a central strategy to prevent morbidity in the adult population.
authors.affiliation: Helse Førde HF/Førde Health Trust, Postboks 1000, 6807 Førde, Norway. Electronic address: tinalvie@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Tina Løkke
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Vie
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Research, Haukeland University Hospital, Norway. Electronic address: karl.ove.hufthammer@helse-bergen.no.
authors.forename: Karl Ove
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Hufthammer
authors.affiliation: HUNT Research Centre, Department of Public Health and General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway. Electronic address: turid.lingaas.holmen@ntnu.no.
authors.forename: Turid Lingaas
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Holmen
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Norway. Electronic address: Eivind.Meland@igs.uib.no.
authors.forename: Eivind
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Meland
authors.affiliation: Helse Førde HF, Norway. Electronic address: hans.johan.breidablik@helse-forde.no.
authors.forename: Hans Johan
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Breidablik
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D052636:Allostasis / Q000502:physiology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Allostasis; Allostatic load; Biological dysregulation; Biomarkers; Norway; Self-rated health; Stability