History of socioeconomic disadvantage and allostatic load in later life

Abstract

There is a growing interest in understanding how the experience of socioeconomic status (SES) adversity across the life course may accumulate to negatively affect the functioning of biological regulatory systems important to functioning and health in later adulthood. The goal of the present analyses was to examine whether greater life course SES adversity experience would be associated with higher scores on a multi-system allostatic load (AL) index of physiological function in adulthood. Data for these analyses are from 1,008 participants (92.2% White) from the Biomarker Substudy of the Study of Midlife in the US (MIDUS). Multiple indicators of SES adversity in childhood (parent educational attainment, welfare status, financial situation) and two points in adulthood (educational attainment, household income, difficulty paying bills, availability of money to meet basic needs, current financial situation) were used to construct SES adversity measures for each life course phase. An AL score was constructed using information on 24 biomarkers from 7 different physiological systems (sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, cardiovascular, lipid metabolism, glucose metabolism, inflammatory immune activity). Analyses indicate higher AL as a function of greater SES adversity at each phase of, and cumulatively across, the life course. Associations were only moderately attenuated when accounting for a wide array of health status, behavioral and psychosocial factors. Findings suggest that SES adversity experience may cumulate across the life course to have a negative impact on multiple biological systems in adulthood. An important aim of future research is the replication of current findings in this predominantly White sample in more ethnically diverse populations.

Social Determinants of Risk and Outcomes for Cardiovascular Disease

“…34,[268][269][270][271][272][273][274] This is an important consideration because it may be possible to use clinical 109 and public health interventions 92 to reduce this burden, thereby narrowing health disparities. Second, social and economic stresses lead to a biological wear and tear, or allostatic stress response, [275][276][277][278][279][280] involving a number of pathways, including stimulation of stress hormones, [280][281][282] inflammation, 283 endothelial dysfunction, thrombosis, vascular hyperreactivity, 270,274,[284][285][286][287] and metabolic disturbances. 270,285,288,289 Third, the effects of socioeconomic disadvantage in utero and in early childhood have long-term anatomical and physiological effects that lead to CVD in adulthood.…”

“…Chronic elevation of one's allostatic load over a period of years can have harmful effects on many organ systems, especially the cardiovascular system. 278,[293][294][295] A principal site of the harm caused by chronically elevated allostatic load is the arterial circulation. Long-term elevation of cortisol and other stress response hormones triggers an inflammatory response in the endothelial cells lining the arteries and arterioles, leading to the release of inflammatory cytokines and other markers of inflammation.…”

“…Disadvantage that is associated with increased allostatic load and its adverse health consequences persists after controlling for poverty and other forms of disadvantage. 276,278,311 Recent studies have demonstrated increased carotid stiffness and associated intima-media thickness in black men compared with white men, 312 even in men as young as 18 years of age. 313 …”

DOHaD

“…De récentes études ont ainsi montré un lien entre environnement socioéconomique précoce et perturbation de systèmes biologiques à l'âge adulte, tels que les systèmes de réponse au stress (axe hypothalamo-hypophysaire, production de glucocorticoïdes) [4,55], les systèmes inflammatoire et métabolique [5]. Des travaux s'intéressant à des marqueurs plus généraux d'usure physiologique, comme la charge allostatique 1 [6], et de vieillissement, comme la longueur des télomères [7], observent une usure physiologique globale et un vieillissement accélérés chez les personnes exposées à un environnement socioéconomique précoce défavorable. Des mécanismes épigénétiques pourraient être impliqués.…”

Residential mobility in early childhood

“…Further, social influences show a cumulative process over time. Evidence points to the importance of childhood circumstances for adult health outcomes (Gruenewald et al 2012;Haas 2008;Hayward and Gorman 2004). Examining mobility at the youngest ages is therefore crucial for understanding both the effects of mobility on child health and well-being and how residential mobility is influenced by a variety of individual, family, and neighborhood constraints.…”