Adolescent and Young Adult Allostatic Load in the U.S.: Does the Dysregulation Process Start Early?

The present study examines allostatic load among a nationally representative sample of adolescents and young adults. Allostatic load is a relatively new concept, and focuses on the collective overall risks that result from the wear and tear the body experiences over time. Early youth risk exposure has been associated with increased morbidity and premature mortality later in life, yet most studies examine allostatic load among older populations. The current study assesses 2,077 adolescents and young adults, age 12-25, in the 2007 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. This study attempts to uncover the allostatic load process by assessing whether adolescents and young adults experience allostatic load at a young age. Individual biomarkers such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, waist-to-hip ratio, glycosylated hemoglobin, and C-reactive protein are used to determine cumulative physiological dysregulation. Latent variable modeling and bootstrapping techniques are done to determine weights of individual biomarkers in order to create an allostatic load index. Further analysis of gender and racial differences in allostatic load among the adolescent and young adult population are determined based on predicted probabilities. Preliminary findings show that among adolescents and young adults, females and African Americans have a higher probability of having an allostatic load score of 4 or higher. Evidence was found that racial and gender inequalities in health exist across a range of biological systems, even among adolescent and young adult populations.