GSBS Dissertations and Theses
ORCID ID
0000-0001-7238-1269
Publication Date
2019-03-29
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Academic Program
Clinical and Population Health Research
Department
Quantitative Health Sciences
First Thesis Advisor
Milagros C. Rosal
Keywords
Allostatic load, glycemic load, perceived stress, type 2 diabetes, Puerto Rican
Abstract
Background: Puerto Ricans experience high prevalence of type 2 diabetes (diabetes). Stress is a risk factor for diabetes. The allostatic load (AL) model explains how stress influences disease through a chain of physiological changes. Puerto Ricans experience psychological and physiological (obesity and high glycemic load (GL)) stressors linked with diabetes, yet how these stressors impact the AL chain and how their interplay affects glucose metabolism remains unknown.
Methods: Using data from the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study, this thesis sought to examine: 1) the relationship between GL and primary AL markers, 2) the interaction between perceived stress and GL on HbA1c, and if primary AL markers mediate this interaction, and 3) the interaction between change in weight and in perceived stress on HbA1c.
Results: 1) GL change over 2 years was associated with increases in primary AL markers in women. 2) Women with high perceived stress and high GL had higher HbA1c and primary AL markers did not mediate this interaction. 3) In women, there was an interaction between change in weight and perceived stress on HbA1c over 2 years, with the effect of weight change on HbA1c being greater with increases in perceived stress. None of these associations were observed in men.
Conclusion: This study partially confirms the AL model in Puerto Rican women but not in men. It provides data to inform intervention targets to prevent and manage diabetes in Puerto Rican women and identifies women at high risk of diabetes in this minority group.
Repository Citation
Lopez-Cepero, AA. Physiological and Psychological Stressors Associated with Glucose Metabolism in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study. (2019). University of Massachusetts Medical School. GSBS Dissertations and Theses. Paper 1012. DOI: 10.13028/6y2r-6f43. https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/gsbs_diss/1012
DOI
10.13028/6y2r-6f43
DOI Link
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