Allostatic load, diet and biological aging in 25,775 U.S. adults
In this abstract, higher allostatic load was associated with accelerated biological aging on four indicators; exploratory mediation suggested the Dietary Inflammatory Index may partly account for part of this link. [1]
Automatic summary · not editorially reviewed
The key findings
The analysis covered 25,775 U.S. adults from NHANES 2001–2010 and 2015–2018, measuring allostatic load with 8 biomarkers and biological aging with four indicators. [1]
21.56% of participants were in the high allostatic load group, which showed higher Dietary Inflammatory Index scores and elevated biological aging indicators than the low group. [1]
Exploratory mediation analysis suggested the Dietary Inflammatory Index may partly account for part of the association between allostatic load and biological aging. [1]
The source at a glance
- Study type / format
- Observational analysis of nationally representative survey data (abstract)
- Population / context
- 25,775 U.S. adults in NHANES 2001–2010 and 2015–2018, after excluding those with missing data.
- Summary based on
- Study abstract
- Original publication
- July 24, 2026
Allostatic load and four aging indicators in NHANES
The abstract describes an analysis of NHANES data from 2001–2010 and 2015–2018 covering 25,775 U.S. adults, after excluding those with missing data. Allostatic load, described as a comprehensive indicator of chronic stress, was measured using 8 biomarkers. Biological aging was assessed with four indicators: Phenotypic Age, Biological Age, GOLD BioAge and Light BioAge. The Dietary Inflammatory Index was calculated from a 24-hour dietary recall of 45 food items, and sociodemographic and clinical factors served as covariates.
Supporting source [1]
Higher allostatic load linked to higher aging indicators
According to the abstract, 21.56% of participants were in the high allostatic load group. This group showed significantly higher Dietary Inflammatory Index scores and elevated biological aging indicators compared with the low allostatic load group. Weighted linear and logistic regressions examined the relationship between allostatic load, the Dietary Inflammatory Index and biological aging, with subgroup and mediation analyses exploring the mediating role of the Dietary Inflammatory Index. The abstract states that exploratory mediation analysis suggested the Dietary Inflammatory Index may partly account for part of this association.
Supporting source [1]
Abstract-only scope and association, not causation
The abstract concludes that elevated allostatic load is significantly associated with accelerated biological aging assessed by multiple complementary indicators in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. It describes the mediation finding as exploratory and says the Dietary Inflammatory Index may partly account for part of the association. The abstract frames reducing chronic physiological stress and the inflammatory potential of the diet as strategies to promote healthy aging and suggests clinical assessment of allostatic load and the Dietary Inflammatory Index may help identify people at risk. These are associations from an observational analysis, not evidence that changing stress or diet causes slower biological aging.
Supporting source [1]
How to interpret this
Abstract only; the full text was not reviewed. The abstract reports an observational analysis, so the findings are associations, not causal effects. The mediation result is described as exploratory, and the abstract does not report effect sizes, confidence intervals or adjustment details.
Based on the study abstract; the full paper, tables and supplementary data were not reviewed.
Source & supporting passages
Liu J, Zhou S, Zhang J, Ke S, Huang J. · europepmc.org · July 24, 2026