Share Your Win: Shanting Chen Looks at Allostatic Load, Long-Term Health, and Aging

My research will examine how stress and life experiences get “under the skin” to shape long-term health and aging. Specifically, I’ll be advancing the measurement of allostatic load—a marker of cumulative physiological wear-and-tear—using longitudinal, nationally representative datasets (HRS & Add Health) along with DNA methylation data. The project will:

1️⃣ Identify the most reliable measures of allostatic load and create a DNA methylation-based surrogate.
2️⃣ Map how allostatic load changes across the life course.
3️⃣ Pinpoint key risk and protective factors that drive these changes.

Findings will establish best practices for measuring stress biology in population datasets, identify windows for intervention, and inform strategies to promote healthy aging.

Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease are leading causes of morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs in the United States. Because these conditions develop gradually over decades, identifying early biological indicators of disease risk is critical for prevention. Allostatic load (AL), a measure of cumulative physiological stress, shows promise as an early marker but lacks standardized measurement and longitudinal evidence. This project addresses these gaps by optimizing AL measurement and identifying key life-course risk and protective factors, helping to inform earlier interventions and strategies to promote healthy aging.

Funder: NIA

Funding Amount: $633,297

–Shanting Chen
University of Florida
chenshanting@ufl.edu