Allostatic Load
Allostatic load describes the cumulative physiological costs that may accompany repeated or prolonged adaptation. It connects long-term challenges with changes across multiple bodily systems.
Updated 2026-09-14 · Archived
This is the text and publication record captured for this edition. Later corrections appear in subsequent editions. Website design and interactive software are not archived here.
At a glance
Repeated adaptation may carry a cost.
Allostatic load describes the cumulative physiological costs that may accompany repeated or prolonged adaptation. It connects long-term challenges with changes across multiple bodily systems.
This is a research concept. Fatigue alone, or a single indicator, cannot establish it.
The possible cost of repeated adaptation
The allostatic-load framework connects repeated demands with cumulative physiological costs. Stress mediators can have protective as well as damaging effects, depending on the pattern and context of their activity.[1][2]
A construct, with different measures
A review of reviews documented variation in the measures used to operationalise allostatic load. A study's biomarker panel, thresholds and population matter when interpreting its index.[3]
Not a personal diagnosis
This hub does not translate tiredness or a single test result into allostatic load. The linked feature explains the concept and its measurement limits in more detail.
References
- Bruce S. McEwen, Eliot Stellar (1993). Stress and the individual. Mechanisms leading to disease. Archives of Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.1993.00410180039004
- Bruce S. McEwen (1998). Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators. New England Journal of Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199801153380307
- Shawna Beese, Julie Postma, Janessa M. Graves (2022). Allostatic Load Measurement: A Systematic Review of Reviews, Database Inventory, and Considerations for Neighborhood Research. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192417006
Publication record
TAP-CON-0004 · v0.1 · English
Scientific review has not been completed for this edition.
The Allostasis Project is founded and supported by Resilio.
© The Allostasis Project. All rights reserved. Reproduction or adaptation requires separate permission, subject to applicable legal exceptions.