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Allostatic Load Effects

Meaning

Allostatic Load Effects describe the cumulative physiological wear and tear on the body’s organ systems resulting from chronic overactivity or underactivity of the allostatic response, which is the process of achieving stability through physiological change. When the body is repeatedly or chronically exposed to stressors, the normal compensatory mechanisms, including the HPA axis and sympathetic nervous system, become dysregulated. These long-term effects manifest as an accumulation of biological risk factors that increase susceptibility to disease and accelerate biological aging. Measuring allostatic load provides a clinical metric for quantifying the biological cost of chronic stress exposure.