ArticlePsychosomatic medicine2015
Work stress, caregiving, and allostatic load: prospective results from the Whitehall II cohort study.
Article in Psychosomatic medicine, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Allostatic Load Measurement: A Systematic Review of Reviews, Database Inventory, and Considerations for Neighborhood Research.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Associations of working conditions and chronic low-grade inflammation among employees: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2021Pooled it
- Is Family Caregiving Associated With Inflammation or Compromised Immunity? A Meta-Analysis.The Gerontologist · 2019Pooled it
- Dysglycemia-Based Chronic Disease and Lifestyle Medicine: Mechanistic Interpretation Using the Allostatic Load Model.American journal of lifestyle medicine · 2026Review
- Disparities in Allostatic Load Among Different Races: A Comprehensive Scoping Review.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2025Review
- Allostatic load and cancer risk, progression, and mortality in epidemiologic studies.American journal of epidemiology · 2025Article
- Employers' Perspectives of Caregiver-Friendly Workplace Policies for Caregiver-Employees Caring for Older Adults in Hong Kong: Thematic Analysis.JMIR aging · 2025Article
- Association of allostatic load measured by allostatic load index on physical performance and psychological responses during arduous military training.Physiological reports · 2025Article
- Perceptions and Experiences of Caregiver-Employees, Employers, and Health Care Professionals With Caregiver-Friendly Workplace Policy in Hong Kong: Thematic Analysis.Interactive journal of medical research · 2025Article
- Caregiver Employees' Mental Well-Being in Hong Kong.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The Psychoneuroimmunological Model of Moral Distress and Health in Healthcare Workers: Toward Individual and System-Level Solutions.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2024Review
- Profiles of historical loss and childhood trauma as predictors of mental and cardiometabolic health in American Indian adults.SSM. Mental health · 2023Article
- How should we prioritise global surgery? A capabilities approach argument for the place of surgery within every health system.BMJ global health · 2023Article
- Architectural Allostatic Overloading: Exploring a Connection between Architectural Form and Allostatic Overloading.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- The role of self-reported stressors in recovery from Exhaustion Disorder: a longitudinal study.BMC psychiatry · 2022Article
- Validation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) adapted for the whole day repeated measures context.Ergonomics · 2022Article
- Work incapacity among family caregivers: a record linkage study.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2022Article
- Psychosocial working conditions and chronic low-grade inflammation in geriatric care professionals: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2022Article
- A Public Health Framework for Preventing Mental Disorders in the Context of Pandemics.Cognitive and behavioral practice · 2021Article
- Understanding Worker Well-Being Relative to High-Workload and Recovery Activities across a Whole Day: Pilot Testing an Ecological Momentary Assessment Technique.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesStudies investigating health effects of work and family stress usually consider these factors in isolation. The present study investigated prospective interactive effects of job strain and informal caregiving on allostatic load (AL), a multisystem indicator of physiological dysregulation.
methodsParticipants were 7007 British civil servants from the Whitehall II cohort study. Phase 3 (1991-1994) served as the baseline, and Phases 5 (1997-1999) and 7 (2002-2004) served as follow-ups. Job strain (high job demands combined with low control) and caregiving (providing care to aged or disabled relatives) were assessed at baseline. AL index (possible range, 0-9) was assessed at baseline and both follow-ups based on nine cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune biomarkers. Linear mixed-effect models were used to examine the association of job strain and caregiving with AL.
resultsHigh caregiving burden (above the sample median weekly hours of providing care) predicted higher AL levels, with the effect strongest in those also reporting job strain (b = 0.36, 95% confidence interval = 0.01-0.71); however, the interaction between job strain and caregiving was not significant (p = .56). Regardless of job strain, participants with low caregiving burden (below sample median) had lower subsequent AL levels than did non-caregivers (b = -0.22, 95% confidence interval = -0.06--0.37).
conclusionsThe study provides some evidence for adverse effects of stress at work combined with family demands on physiological functioning. However, providing care to others may also have health protective effects if it does not involve excessive time commitment.
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