School of Public Health

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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations.

Note: Prior to July 1, 2007, the School of Public Health was named the College of Health & Human Performance.

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    Measuring Allostatic Load in a Nationally Representative Sample of Pregnant Women
    (2012) Selmer, Stephanie; Shenassa, Edmond; Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Allostatic load (AL) is a measure of cumulative "wear and tear" on the body resulting from exposure to chronic stress. Recently, a potential link between AL and poor birth outcomes was proposed, although it is unknown whether AL can be measured in a meaningful way during pregnancy. To determine this, an AL index was created using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2006. The distribution of AL scores were significantly different in pregnant and non-pregnant women (p<0.01). AL scores were associated with race, age, income, and education level in the sample of non-pregnant women, but similar associations were not seen in pregnant women. Overall, the results of this study suggest that AL does not have the same attributes in pregnant women as it does in non-pregnant women. However, the findings suggest directions for future study of AL as a risk factor for poor birth outcomes.
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    Association between Allostatic Load and Arthritis in NHANES Adults
    (2010) Scully, Lynn; Lee, Sunmin; Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Objective: To examine the cross-sectional association between allostatic load and arthritis using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Methods: Complete data on 7,714 adults were included in the analysis. An allostatic load (AL) index, comprising of multiple regulatory systems, was calculated from 11 biomarkers. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for the association between allostatic load and arthritis, while accounting for confounders. Results: Significant positive associations were found between both continuous allostatic load (OR=1.12, 95% CI= 1.08-1.17) and the two highest quartile categories of AL and arthritis compared to the lowest quartile (quartile 3: OR=1.73, 95% CI=1.38-2.17, quartile 4: OR=1.79, 95% CI=1.41-2.26), after adjusting for confounders. The subscales of the inflammatory (OR=1.27, 95% CI=1.15-1.40) and metabolic system (OR=1.20, 95% CI=1.13-1.28) were also significant predictors. Conclusions: Cumulative biological risk is a plausible mechanism that is associated with arthritis.