Association of allostatic load with health-related quality of life in patients with arterial hypertension: a cross-sectional analysis

AIMS OF THE STUDY Allostatic load (AL), as a marker of cumulative stress, is associated with higher morbidity and mortality, and reduced health-related quality of life (HrQoL) in healthy adults. In patients with hypertension, AL and its association with HrQoL have not been investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to (1) explore AL in a cohort of hypertensive patients and to (2) determine its association with HrQoL, while controlling for other health-related variables. METHODS Cross-sectional data from the Styrian Hypertension Study were analysed and included 126 participants (50% female) with a history of arterial hypertension; the mean age was 60.9 years (standard deviation 9.9). AL was derived from a set of 10 biomarkers including neurophysiological, neuroendocrine, metabolic, cardiovascular and inflammatory parameters. The 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) was administered for assessment of HrQoL. Additional health-related variables included sociodemographic data, lifestyle factors and comorbidities. RESULTS Calculation of AL resulted in sum scores based on 10 binary variables, which were used to categorise patients as either “low AL” (