Table 5.
Predictors of Standardized Allostatic* Load Amongst 1865 Kaiser Permanente Enrollees, 2005
| Seeman† | Crimmins‡ | ICMHϨ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||
| Predictors | Beta | (95% CI) | Beta | (95% CI) | Beta | (95% CI) |
| Age ( per year) | 0.23 | (0.16, 0.30) | 0.21 | (0.14, 0.27) | −0.15 | (−0.22, −0.08) |
| Female | 0.03 | (−0.06, 0.12) | −0.034 | (−0.13, 0.06) | 0.004 | (−0.087, 0.096) |
| African American | 0.24 | (0.15, 0.33) | 0.14 | (0.04, 0.22) | −0.296 | (−0.388, −0.204) |
| Education | ||||||
| HS grad or less | Referent | Referent | Referent | |||
| Some college | −0.024 | (−0.16, 0.11) | −0.02 | (−0.15, 0.11) | −0.021 | (−0.15, 0.11) |
| College degree+ | −0.12 | (−0.25, 0.0004) | −0.14 | (−0.26, −0.01) | 0.14 | (0.014, 0.264) |
All measures of allostatic load were x-standardized so that each beta coefficient represents the effect of an increase in one unit of the predictor on standard deviations allostatic load. Therefore, the beta co-efficient of 0.23 for age for the Seeman method, would be interpreted as follows: a one year increase in age results on average in a 0.23 standard deviation increase in Seeman et. al. allostatic load score after adjustment for gender, race, and education.
The Crimmins allostatic load measurement method refers to a method of computing allostatic load based on 12 bio-markers and both clinical and NHANES cut points first described by Crimmins et. al. (Crimmins et al., 2003) Higher scores on the Crimmins et. al. measure represent higher allostatic load. Refer to Table 1 for further information on specific bio-markers included in the Crimmins method of computing an allostatic load score.
The Seeman method of calculating allostatic load, first published by Geronimus et. al., (Geronimus et al., 2006) uses 10 biomarkers and clinical cut points. Like the Crimmins measure, higher scores are associated with higher levels of allostatic load. Refer to Table 1 for further information on specific bio-markers included in the Seeman method of computing an allostatic load score.
The ICMH or “Index of Cardiometabolic Health” is a z-score based approach whereby higher scores are associated with lower allostatic load. The ICMH is calculated by standardizing each biomarker to have a mean of 50 (range 0–100) and standard deviation of 12.5. The average of all the biomarkers is taken to get the ICMH score. Refer to Table 1 for further information on specific bio-markers included in the ICMH method of computing an allostatic load score.