Origins of health inequalities: the case for Allostatic Load

Authors

  • Cyrille Delpierre UMR1027 INSERM/ Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III Department of epidemiology and public health
  • Cristina Barboza-Solis UMR1027 INSERM/ Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III Department of epidemiology and public health
  • Jerome Torrisani Centre de Recherches en Cancérologie de Toulouse
  • Muriel Darnaudery University Bordeaux Segalen
  • Melanie Bartley University College London
  • David Blane University College London
  • Michelle Kelly-Irving UMR1027 INSERM/ Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III Department of epidemiology and public health http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5749-4791
  • Linn Getz General Practice Research Unit, Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  • Margret Olafia Tomasdottir Department of Family Medicine, University of Iceland, and Primary Health Care of the Capital Area, Reykjavik, Iceland
  • Tony Robertson School of Health Sciences, University of Stirling
  • Per E. Gustafsson Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Unit of Social Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14301/llcs.v7i1.325

Keywords:

allostatic load, health, measurement, life course, embodiment, biomarkers

Abstract

In an opening paper Cyrille Delpierre, Cristina Barbosa-Solis, Jerome Torrisani, Muriel Darnaudery, Melanie Bartley, David Blane and Michelle Kelly-Irving explore the concept of Allostatic Load as a way of examining health inequalities. The impact of the environment on our biological systems is summarised by the concept of embodiment. The biological embedding of social conditions could therefore be a relevant mechanism to partly explain the social gradient in health. A key issue is how to measure the ‘physiological reality’, the biological expression of embodiment at individual and population levels. Allostatic load (AL) has been proposed as a measure of the overall cost of adapting to the environment, and may be a relevant tool or concept for measuring the way we have embodied our environment. The points they raise are then debated in commentaries by Linn Getz and Margret Olafia Tomasdottir, Tony Robertson and Per Gustafson. These commentaries are followed by a response from the authors of the opening paper.

Author Biographies

Cyrille Delpierre, UMR1027 INSERM/ Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III Department of epidemiology and public health

Epidemiologist

Department of epidemiology and public health

Cristina Barboza-Solis, UMR1027 INSERM/ Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III Department of epidemiology and public health

PhD candidate

Jerome Torrisani, Centre de Recherches en Cancérologie de Toulouse

Senior scientist

Muriel Darnaudery, University Bordeaux Segalen

Professor of neuroscience

Melanie Bartley, University College London

Professor Emeritus

David Blane, University College London

Professor Emeritus

Michelle Kelly-Irving, UMR1027 INSERM/ Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III Department of epidemiology and public health

I am an epidemiologist based working on the social determinants of health. The main focus of my work is on the impact of the early life environment on later health. My research takes a lifecourse approach to understanding the interactions between individuals and their environments accross the life span. I am also passionate about interdisciplinary research on health and wellbeing.

 

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Published

2016-01-19

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2016): Longitudinal and Life Course Studies

Section

Comment and Debate

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