Allostatic Load of Men and Women in Early Middle Age

The present longitudinal study investigated three aspects of allostatic load, a long-term negative consequence of physical responses to stress: (1) sex differences in allostatic load in early middle age, (2) associations between career stability history and allostatic load, and (3) relationships between allostatic load and health problems. Participants consisted of 62 men and 55 women from the ongoing Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development, Finland. Allostatic load was the sum of eight parameters (dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate, 12-h urinary norepinephrine, high-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, glycosylated hemoglobin, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and waist-to-hip ratio) for which the participant fell into the high-risk quartile. Results showed that 41.9% of men and 21.8% of women had an elevated allostatic load at age 42. Participants with preceding unstable career assessed prospectively at age 36 had an over three-fold risk for high allostatic load six years later compared to participants with a stable career history; sex, alcohol consumption, and smoking were adjusted for in the models. Furthermore, participants with high allostatic load reported having more psychosomatic symptoms. The results reveal that an unstable career as a long-term stressful life condition may have long-lasting effects on health.