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ALLOSTATIC LOAD AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS IN POLISH ADULT MEN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2013

ANNA LIPOWICZ ,
ALICJA SZKLARSKA  and
ROBERT M. MALINA
ANNA LIPOWICZ*
Affiliation:
Institute of Anthropology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland
ALICJA SZKLARSKA
Affiliation:
Institute of Anthropology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland
ROBERT M. MALINA
Affiliation:
Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, University of Texas at Austin, USA Department of Kinesiology, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, Texas, USA
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Summary

This study considers the relationship between a cumulative index of biological dysregulation (allostatic load) and several dimensions of socioeconomic status (SES) and lifestyle in adult Polish males. The extent to which lifestyle variables can explain SES variation in allostatic load was also evaluated. Participants were 3887 occupationally active men aged 25–60 years living in cities and villages in the Silesia region of Poland. The allostatic load indicator included eleven markers: % fat (adverse nutritional intake), systolic and diastolic blood pressures (cardiovascular activity), FEV1 (lung function), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (inflammatory processes), glucose and total cholesterol (cardiovascular disease risk), total plasma protein (stress-haemoconcentration), bilirubin, creatinine clearance and alkaline phosphatase activity (hepatic and renal functions). A higher level of completed education, being married and residing in an urban area were associated with lower physiological dysregulation. The association between indicators of SES and allostatic load was not eliminated or attenuated when unhealthy lifestyle variables were included in the model. Smoking status and alcohol consumption played minimal roles in explaining the association between SES and allostatic load; physical activity, however, had a generally protective effect on allostatic load.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 46 , Issue 2 , March 2014 , pp. 155 - 167
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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