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Stress, allostatic load and mental health in Indigenous Australians
- Source :
- Stress. 23:509-518
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- Informa UK Limited, 2020.
-
Abstract
- The aim of this narrative review was to demonstrate how the notion of allostatic load (AL) relates directly to the mental health disparities observed between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. We also endeavored to synthesize the results of the limited number of studies examining stress and AL in Indigenous Australians in order to explore the potential public health benefits of the AL concept. A range of literature examining health inequalities, psychosocial determinants of mental illness and AL was explored to demonstrate the applicability of stress biology to the significant mental health burden faced by Indigenous Australians. Furthermore, all original studies indexed in MEDLINE that provided quantitative data on primary stress biomarkers in Indigenous Australians were selected for review. Evidence of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation and increased AL is apparent even in the handful of studies examining stress biomarkers in Indigenous Australians. Urinary, salivary, hair and fingernail cortisol, hair cortisone, urinary epinephrine, heart rate variability and the cortisol awakening response are all AL parameters which have been shown to be dysregulated in Indigenous Australian cohorts. Furthermore, associations between some of these biomarkers, self-perceived discrimination, exposure to stressful life events and symptoms of psychiatric disorders in Indigenous Australians have also been demonstrated. The continued assessment of AL biomarkers and their relationship with past traumas, lifetime stressors and socio-economic factors amongst Indigenous Australians is important to addressing the mental health this population. Measurement of AL biomarkers in a culturally appropriate manner may lead to more targeted preventative measures, interventions and policies, which mitigate the effects of stress at both the individual and societal level.
- Subjects :
- Gerontology
Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System
medicine.medical_specialty
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
Physiology
Population
Psychological intervention
Pituitary-Adrenal System
Indigenous
03 medical and health sciences
Behavioral Neuroscience
0302 clinical medicine
medicine
Humans
education
education.field_of_study
Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Public health
Australia
Mental illness
medicine.disease
Mental health
Allostatic load
030227 psychiatry
Psychiatry and Mental health
Mental Health
Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
Allostasis
Psychosocial
Stress, Psychological
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 16078888 and 10253890
- Volume :
- 23
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Stress
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....7d465fd9fb424fb7a8a69c67b38f7592