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Allostatic Load

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.

Editorial preview · Scientific review pending
01

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]

02

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]

03

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.

This is a research concept. Fatigue alone, or a single indicator, cannot establish it.
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Features

Allostatic Load: The Hidden Cost of Adaptation

The body adjusts, again and again, to meet life's demands. Over time, the possible costs of adaptation come into view.

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Core reading

  1. Stress and the individual. Mechanisms leading to disease ↗

    Bruce S. McEwen · Eliot Stellar
    Archives of Internal Medicine · 1993

    Study record & citations
  2. Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators ↗

    Bruce S. McEwen
    New England Journal of Medicine · 1998

    Study record & citations
  3. Allostatic Load Measurement: A Systematic Review of Reviews, Database Inventory, and Considerations for Neighborhood Research ↗

    Shawna Beese · Julie Postma · Janessa M. Graves
    International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 2022

    Study record & citations
Editorial & review record
Content typeScientific concept
Last updatedv0.1 · Editorial draft

An author and scientific reviewer have not yet been appointed. Names and dates will be published when the work is completed.

Founded and supported by Resilio.

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Where to go next.

AllostasisMaintaining stability through change.RecoveryRegaining capacity after a disturbance.Physiological ReserveHow much capacity remains beyond everyday needs?

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FoundationsLoadFoundationsAllostasisFoundationsAllostatic LoadFoundationsRecoveryFoundationsPhysiological ReserveFoundationsResilienceFeaturesAllostatic Load: The Hidden Cost of AdaptationFeaturesRecovery Is Not RestMethods & projectEvidence grading & methodsMethods & projectEditorial & scientific standardsMethods & projectAbout the projectResearch · 1993Stress and the individual. Mechanisms leading to diseaseResearch · 1998Protective and damaging effects of stress mediatorsResearch · 2003The cumulative cost of additional wakefulness: dose-response effects on neurobehavioral functions and sleep physiology from chronic sleep restriction and total sleep deprivationResearch · 2010Greater cardiovascular responses to laboratory mental stress are associated with poor subsequent cardiovascular risk status: a meta-analysis of prospective evidenceResearch · 2011Stress- and Allostasis-Induced Brain PlasticityResearch · 2012Allostasis: a model of predictive regulationResearch · 2015Recovery from job stress: The stressor-detachment model as an integrative frameworkResearch · 2016Physical Resilience in Older Adults: Systematic Review and Development of an Emerging ConstructResearch · 2017A Meta-Analysis on Antecedents and Outcomes of Detachment from WorkResearch · 2018Recovery and Performance in Sport: Consensus StatementResearch · 2022Allostatic Load Measurement: A Systematic Review of Reviews, Database Inventory, and Considerations for Neighborhood Research