Pilot evaluation of allostatic load and breast cancer characteristics in a predominantly Han Chinese population.

person Wenjing Gou People's Hospital of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China info_outline Wenjing Gou, Qin Zou, Ruth C. Carlos

Authors person Wenjing Gou People's Hospital of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China info_outline Wenjing Gou, Qin Zou, Ruth C. Carlos Organizations People's Hospital of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI Abstract Disclosures Research Funding No funding sources reported Background: To determine the effects of allostatic load (AL), a measure of cumulative physiological effects of chronic stress due to adverse social determinants of health, on breast cancer (BC) characteristics in Chinese individuals. Methods: A pilot sample of185 women with newly diagnosed BC at Sichuan People’s hospital from 2018 to 2023 and complete AL data were included. AL used 10 markers (total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, albumin, glomerular filtration rate, white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index and heart rate). AL was assigned 1 point for each marker value in the worst quartile. The sum of the points represented the AL composite measure. Using linear and logistic regression, we determined the association of AL with age and educational attainment and with tumor ER+ and PR+ status. Results: Participants were 98.37% Han Chinese, mean age 51 (range 27-78). 23.24% attained college-level education or above. Higher AL trended to correlate with less than college-level educational attainment (coefficient=-0.60, p=0.058). In a univariable model, AL correlated with ER+ (OR=0.80, P = 0.039) and PR+ (OR=0.81, P < 0.001) BC. Adjusting for age and educational attainment, AL trends remained positive but not significant with ER+ BC (OR =0.82, P = 0.092). Conclusions: Similar to US patients, AL may represent a physiologic correlate of adverse social conditions and worse BC characteristics. Results remain to be confirmed in a larger population.