Relationship of Serum Vitamin D Concentrations and Allostatic Load as a Measure of Cumulative Biological Risk among the US Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

IntroductionThe allostatic load (AL) index is a multi-systemic measure of physiologic dysregulation known to be associated with chronic exposure to stress and adverse health outcomes. We examined the relationship between AL and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration in non-institutionalized US adults.MethodsData from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III, 1988–94) were used to calculate two versions of AL including 9 biomarkers and another two with 14 biomarkers (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate, serum cholesterol, serum HDL-cholesterol, glycated hemoglobin, sex-specific waist-to-hip ratio, serum albumin, and serum C-reactive protein for AL1, and, additionally body mass index, serum triglyceride, serum creatinine, and serum herpes I & II antibodies for AL2), each set defined by predefined cut-offs or by quartiles. Serum vitamin D concentration was ranked into quartiles. Logistic regression, Poisson regression and linear regression were used to examine the association of serum 25(OH)D concentrations on AL, after adjusting for biological, physiological, socioeconomic, lifestyle, and health variables.ResultsOdds Ratios (OR) for high AL of the lowest 25(OH)D serum quartile were between 1.45 (95% CI: 1.28, 1.67) and 1.79 (95% CI: 1.39, 2.32) for the fully adjusted model, depending on AL version. Inverse relationships between vitamin D serum concentrations were observed for all AL versions and every adjustment. This relationship was consistent after stratification by sex, age or ethnic background. Sensitivity to low 25(OH)D concentrations was highest among the youngest group (20–39 years) with an OR of 2.11 (95% CI: 1.63, 2.73) for the lowest vitamin D quartile Q1.ConclusionsVitamin D had a consistent and statistically significant inverse association with all tested models of high AL, which remained consistent after adjusting for biological, socioeconomic, lifestyle and health variables. Our study adds evidence linking low 25(OH)D concentrations with poorer health, further-reaching than bone health.

Inflammatory Biomarkers, Microbiome, Depression, and Executive Dysfunction in Alcohol Users

“…Vitamin D deficiency in plasma was found in the CG, which has been described to be inversely associated with physiological dysregulation associated with chronic exposure to stress and adverse health outcomes [104]. Deficiency of vitamin D has also been found to independently predict cognitive impairment [105]. Although previous studies have related alcohol consumption with lower levels of vitamin D in plasma, we found higher levels of this vitamin in AG [106][107][108].…”

Variation in the Calculation of Allostatic Load Score: 21 Examples from NHANES

“…Of the 26 variables used in the 18 equations, 24 variables were continuous and two were categorical. The two categorical variables were asthma, present or absent and antibodies to herpes simplex virus I or II, present or absent[9,21]. Depending on the number of variables included in the ALS equation, scores ranged between 0 and 14.…”

Cardiovascular and Metabolic Risk in Women in the First Year Postpartum: Allostatic Load as a Function of Race, Ethnicity, and Poverty Status

“…al,’s analysis of NHANES data suggests a cross-sectional relationship between low vitamin D levels and higher biological risk, including AL. 26 Our own data suggest that adding vitamin D sufficiency to the AL index increases the strength of prediction for adverse perinatal outcomes. 27 In general, women who breastfeed are more likely to be supplementing their vitamin D intake (although supplementation also varies by SES), another possible contributor to breastfeeding’s protective effect.…”