Core Area 4: Allostatic Load

February 4-5, 2019

New Orleans, LA

Core Area 4

This workshop is a first followup to the GOMRI-sponsored Human Health Observing System workshop held in Washington, DC on November 14 – 16, 2018. Critical concerns in the design of any surveillance system are the issues of what to measure, with what frequency, with what instrumentation, and with what underlying rationale? Among the ideas and concepts discussed in the prior workshop was the notion of allostatic load (AL). A definition of allostatic load — one among several similar definitions put forth since its introduction in 1993 — is as follows: ‘Allostatic Load is the price the body pays for being forced to adapt to adverse psychosocial or physical situations. It represents either the presence of too much stress or the inefficient operation of the stress hormone response system, which must be turned on and then turned off again after the stressful situation is over.’ Workshop discussions will address practical measurement of exposure and its relationship to AL, beginning with conceptual issues and shifting to strategies for operationalizing AL.

Agenda

Participant List