Allostatic load and women’s brain health: A systematic review

Kerr, Philippe; Kheloui, Sarah; Rossi, Mathias; Désilets, Marie; Juster, Robert‐Paul

doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2020.100858

Cited by 31 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 106 publications

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“…Also, dried blood spots in this study allow for a greater ease of collection; however, this approach limits the number of possible extraction of biological analytes (82). Note that our analysis yielded a negative association between age and AL, contrary to a well-established association in the literature showing a positive association between age and AL (83). In an analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, AL steadily increases from ages 20 to 60 years and then plateaus (84).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Spousal Synchrony in Allostatic Load Among Older Couples in the Health and Retirement Study

Juster

2023

Psychosom Med

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Objectives Using national data from the Health and Retirement Study, this study examined interpartner associations of allostatic load (AL) among 2,338 different-sex couples (N = 4,676 individuals) over a four-year period among older American couples from a dyadic approach. Methods AL was indexed by immune (c-reactive protein), metabolic (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol and glycosylated hemoglobin), renal (cystatin C), cardiovascular (systolic and diastolic blood pressures, pulse rate) and anthropometric (waist and body mass index) parameters using the traditional count-based formulation. Actor-partner interdependence models were used to assess interpartner concordance in AL. Results Higher partners’ baseline AL was significantly associated with higher own AL both at baseline and four years later. Additionally, partners’ baseline AL was significantly associated with own AL four years later only in women but not men. Lastly, we did not observe any significant moderating effect of relationship quality on interpartner AL concordance. Conclusions The findings suggest that older couples’ physiological responses to environmental stress are not only linked concurrently, but the associations persist after four years, alluding to long-term impacts of couples’ psychosocial context and physiology on each other.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Spousal Synchrony in Allostatic Load Among Older Couples in the Health and Retirement Study

Juster

2023

Psychosom Med

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“…Model 3 adjusted for demographic characteristics (from model 2) as well as for factors that could be considered confounders or along the causal pathway (i.e., could mediate the association between structural stigma and AL): highest educational attainment, insurance status, past-month physical activity, and past-year heavy drinking. The a priori selection of these covariates was justified as each has been previously identified as predictors of AL in the general population (48,49,58) as well as among sexual minorities (52,59).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consistent with prior work, AL formulations were used with cutoffs specific to each sex (57). Our rationale for using a sex-specific AL formulation is informed by between-sex and within-sex observations: AL tends to be higher among men but is more often associated with sociocultural gender-based factors among women (58). Table S1, Supplemental Digital Content, http://links.lww.com/PSYMED/ B4, provides the sex-specific cutoffs for individual biomarkers indexed in our measure of AL.…”

Section: Allostatic Loadmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations Between Structural Stigma and Allostatic Load Among Sexual Minorities: Results From a Population-Based Study

Juster,

Rutherford,

Keyes

et al. 2024

Psychosom Med

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Objective Structural forms of stigma and discrimination are associated with adverse health outcomes across numerous stigmatized groups, including lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals. Yet, the biological consequences of structural stigma among LGB populations are understudied. To begin to address this gap, we assessed associations between indicators of structural stigma (i.e., state-level policies) targeting LGB individuals and allostatic load (AL) indices representing physiological dysregulations. Methods Pooled data from the continuous 2001-2014 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey were analyzed (LGB: n = 864; heterosexual: n = 20,310). Ten state-level LGB-related policies (e.g., employment non-discrimination protections, same-sex marriage) were used to operationalize structural stigma. A sex-specific AL index representing 11 immune, metabolic, and cardiovascular biomarkers was estimated. Multi-level models were used to examine associations between structural stigma and AL, net of 9 individual-level characteristics (e.g., education, race/ethnicity, age, and health behaviors). Results Sexual minority men living in states with low levels of structural stigma experienced significantly lower AL (β = -.45, p = .02) compared to sexual minority men living in states with high structural stigma (i.e., fewer protective policies). There was no significant association between structural stigma and AL among sexual minority women. Conclusions By demonstrating direct associations between structural stigma and indices of physiological dysregulation, our findings provide a mechanistic understanding of how the social environment can “get under the skin and skull” for sexual minority men in the United States. Future research should explore whether these mechanisms generalize to other marginalized groups exposed to structural stigma.

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“…In this study, early adolescents' physical health was measured as general health and allostatic load (AL). AL is often regarded as a cost of adaptation to adversity (McEwen, 1998), which has been extensively used to assess the "wear and tear" experienced by the body and brain as a result of exposure to environmental challenges (Juster et al, 2010;Kerr et al, 2020;McEwen, 1998), with higher allostatic load scores indicating increased risk for physical health. Mental health was measured as depression and life satisfaction.…”

Section: The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Social Support Buffers the Associations of Household Chaos and Physical and Mental Health in rural Early Adolescents

Mei¹,

Zhang²,

Zhang³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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PurposePrevious studies have shown that early adolescents living in chaotic homes exhibit worse physical and mental health. However, the potential protective factors for the links between household chaos and early adolescents’ health are still unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine whether perceived social support moderates the associations among household chaos, physical health and mental health among Chinese rural early adolescents.MethodsPhysical health was measured by general health and allostatic load (AL). Mental health was reflected by depression and life satisfaction. Specifically, early adolescents (N =350; Mage =10.88 ±1.36 years) from Chinese rural counties reported their household chaos, perceived social support, general health, depression and life satisfaction. AL scores were measured by six physiological indices. Meanwhile, the adolescents’ parents reported their family income.ResultsThe results showed that household chaos was negatively correlated with adolescents’ general health and life satisfaction but positively correlated with depression. In addition, perceived social support moderated the link between household chaos and early adolescents’ health. Specifically, the negative associations among household chaos and general health, depression and life satisfaction were weaker among those who reported higher levels of perceived social support. In addition, adolescents’ AL was independent of household chaos, perceived social support and their interactions.ConclusionsHousehold chaos is a risk factor for physical and mental health among early adolescents living in rural China. Perceived social support mitigates risks to rural adolescents’ physical and mental health.

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Allostatic load and women’s brain health: A systematic review

Cited by 31 publications

References 106 publications

Spousal Synchrony in Allostatic Load Among Older Couples in the Health and Retirement Study

Spousal Synchrony in Allostatic Load Among Older Couples in the Health and Retirement Study

Associations Between Structural Stigma and Allostatic Load Among Sexual Minorities: Results From a Population-Based Study

Perceived Social Support Buffers the Associations of Household Chaos and Physical and Mental Health in rural Early Adolescents

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