Further evidence of the early health deterioration of African Americans compared to whites comes from analyses of a 10-item measure of allostatic load that was attempting to capture the physiologic burden on multiple biological systems in the NHANES data, due to the wear and tear of exposure to stressors and other environmental adversity.22 This study found that blacks had higher scores than whites at all ages, with the racial differences being most marked between 35 and 64 years. Moreover, the racial differences persisted after adjustment for poverty with non-poor blacks having higher scores than poor whites. In addition, black women consistently had higher allostatic load scores than black men.22 These differences could be due to the double jeopardy of racial and gender discrimination that women face, and/or to stressors linked to the central role that black women often play as economic providers to their families.
