Age differences in allostatic load: an index of physiological dysregulation.

This preliminary report examines variation in allostatic load by age for a large nationally representative population of the United States. It uses data on 13 indicators of physiologic dysregulation from a nationally representative sample of the US population 20 years of age and over. Allostatic load is remarkably constant in the older ages after increasing sharply in the years from 20 to 60. We hypothesize that this represents mortality selectivity of the population by physiological status.