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Description

Chronic stress, characterized by sustained activation of physiological stress responses, increases the risk of various health conditions. Allostatic load (AL), a biomarker of cumulative physiological stress, reflects this burden. This study examines the combined effects of lifestyle habits (alcohol consumption and smoking) and environmental exposures (lead, cadmium, and mercury) on AL using NHANES 2017–2018 data. Descriptive analysis showed mean lead, cadmium, and mercury levels of 1.23 μg/dL, 0.49 μg/dL, and 1.37 μg/L, respectively, with a mean AL of 3.57. Linear regression indicated that alcohol consumption was significantly associated with increased AL (β = 0.0933; 95% CI [0.0369, 0.1497]; p = 0.001). Other exposures, including lead (β = −0.1056; p = 0.157), cadmium (β = −0.0001; p = 0.999), mercury (β = −0.0149; p = 0.773), and smoking (β = 0.0129; p = 0.508), were not significant. BKMR analysis confirmed alcohol’s strong importance for AL (PIP = 0.9996) and highlighted a stronger interaction between alcohol and cadmium at higher exposure levels. In contrast, lead, mercury, and smoking showed minimal effects. Findings underscore alcohol consumption and cadmium exposure as key contributors to increased AL, emphasizing the need to consider lifestyle and environmental factors in stress assessment.

Publication Date

4-1-2025

Keywords

Heavy Metals, Allostatic Load, Behavioral factors, Chronic stress

Joint Effects of Lifestyle Habits and Heavy Metals Exposure on Chronic Stress Among U.S. Adults: Insights from NHANES 2017–2018

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