Perceived stress and biological risk: is the link stronger in Russians than in Taiwanese and Americans?
Abstract
Allostatic load theory implies a relationship between exposure to psychological stress
and multi-system physiological dysregulation. We used data from population-based samples
of men and women in Russia (Moscow; n = 1800; age, mean 68.6 years), Taiwan (n = 1036;
65.6 years) and the United States (US; n = 1054; 58.0 years) -- which are likely to
vary widely with respect to levels of stress exposure and biological markers -- to
determine the magnitude of the association between perceived stress and physiological
dysregulation. The measure of overall dysregulation was based on 15 markers including
standard cardiovascular/metabolic risk factors as well as markers of inflammation
and neuroendocrine activity. Subjective psychological stress was measured by the perceived
stress scale. Only the Moscow sample demonstrated a positive association with overall
dysregulation in both sexes. In the US, we found an association among women but not
men. Among the Taiwanese, who report the lowest perceived stress, there was no association
in women but an unexpected inverse relationship in men. The effects also varied across
system-level subscores: the association with perceived stress was most consistent
for standard cardiovascular/metabolic factors. Perceived stress was associated with
inflammation and neuroendocrine activity in some samples. Although the evidence that
perceived stress is the primary source of physiological dysregulation is generally
modest, it was stronger in Russia where the level of perceived stress was particularly
high. For Russia only, we had information about heart function based on a 24 h ambulatory
electrocardiogram; perceived stress was consistently associated with heart rate dysregulation
in Russian men and women.
Type
Journal articleSubject
AdultAged
Aged, 80 and over
Allostasis
Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Biomarkers
Cardiovascular System
Creatinine
Cross-Sectional Studies
European Continental Ancestry Group
Female
Heart Rate
Humans
Hydrocortisone
Inflammation
Male
Middle Aged
Moscow
Neurosecretory Systems
Perception
Risk Factors
Sex Factors
Stress, Psychological
Taiwan
United States
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/14713Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.3109/10253890.2013.789015Publication Info
Glei, Dana A; Goldman, Noreen; Shkolnikov, Vladimir M; Jdanov, Dmitri; Shkolnikova,
Maria; Vaupel, James W; & Weinstein, Maxine (2013). Perceived stress and biological risk: is the link stronger in Russians than in Taiwanese
and Americans?. Stress, 16(4). pp. 411-420. 10.3109/10253890.2013.789015. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/14713.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
Collections
More Info
Show full item recordScholars@Duke
James Walton Vaupel
Research Professor Emeritus in the Sanford School of Public Policy
This author no longer has a Scholars@Duke profile, so the information shown here reflects
their Duke status at the time this item was deposited.

Articles written by Duke faculty are made available through the campus open access policy. For more information see: Duke Open Access Policy
Rights for Collection: Scholarly Articles
Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info