Allostatic Load in Latino Youth (ALLY) study: The Role of Discrimination and Environmental Racism

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PROJECT SUMMARY It is estimated that by 2050, Latino/a/x will compose over half of the California population, highlighting the critical priority for understanding cardiometabolic health risk in this population. Latinx have a 50% lifetime risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases, a result of a complex mixture of predisposition, health behaviors, and environmental factors. A common physiological mechanism associated to chronic diseases is a failure to maintain homeostasis during times of persistent stress. While ample evidence supports a role of psychosocial stressors on allostatic load, several important challenges have not been yet addressed in Latinx youth, such as the role of racial/ethnic discrimination; therefore there is an urgent need to examine the impact of racial discrimination along with wide-ranging profiles of psychosocial and environmental stressors, in-depth phenotyping of allostatic load, and pertinent biomarkers to identify subsets of high cardiometabolic disease risk individuals. The overarching aim of this proposal is to characterize allostatic load (the result of cumulative stressors on physiology via alterations in brain or nervous system physiology) associated with socio-environmental stressors focused on perceived and imposed (environmental) racial discrimination in Latinx youth. We will leverage a body of literature specific to Los Angeles area Latinx youth to develop an evidence-based allostatic load index and to determine the role of racism, alongside other salient predictors of allostatic load. To test our aims, we will collect two separate waves of data (2-years apart) from the same subjects, Latinx or White, late adolescents/young adults. Data collection will consist of serum and saliva biospecimens for determination of allostatic load indices. A comprehensive panel of 20 allostatic load makers will be utilized representing neuroendocrine, cardiovascular and metabolic components, markers that were specifically selected based on existing literature on allostatic load and knowledge on pathophysiology associated with type 2 diabetes risk in Latinx youth. Additional measures include a cumulative measure of environmental burden (as determined by CalEnviroScreen 4.0), and comprehensive measures of discrimination, psychosocial stress, and health history and behaviors (family history of type 2 diabetes, diet, physical activity, smoking, and sleep). To our knowledge, this will be the first longitudinal study in Latinx vs. White youth specifically designed to characterize allostatic load profiles and to examine the role of racial/ethnic discrimination.