The chronic stress of living in a poor neighborhood could be bad for your health, all by itself.
Researchers from the School of Public Health found that people who live in neighborhoods with more poverty exhibit more of the physiological health problems that result from chronic stress.
The study found an association between neighborhood poverty and allostatic load, which is an indicator of the body’s cumulative physiological responses to chronic stress. Physiological responses to stressors such as poverty can accumulate and lead to negative health outcomes for people over the long-term, says Amy Schulz, professor of health behavior and health education, SPH, and study co-author.
Some of these negative health outcomes include high blood pressure, cholesterol, excess weight and elevated glucose levels. All of these can negatively impact various biological systems in the body, especially the cardiovascular system.
Researchers found the association between ill health effects and neighborhood poverty independent of household poverty and health-related behaviors such as smoking or diet.
The study, “Associations between socioeconomic status and allostatic load: Effects of neighborhood poverty and tests of mediating pathways,” appears in the American Journal of Public Health.
