Household crowding is associated with higher allostatic load among the Inuit
Background Household crowding is an important problem in some aboriginal communities that is reaching particularly high levels among the circumpolar Inuit. Living in overcrowded conditions may endanger health via stress pathophysiology. This study examines whether higher household crowding is associ...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2013-203270 https://syndication.highwire.org/content/doi/10.1136/jech-2013-203270 |
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crjcrbmj:10.1136/jech-2013-203270 2024-06-23T07:54:11+00:00 Household crowding is associated with higher allostatic load among the Inuit Riva, Mylene Plusquellec, Pierrich Juster, Robert-Paul Laouan-Sidi, Elhadji A Abdous, Belkacem Lucas, Michel Dery, Serge Dewailly, Eric 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2013-203270 https://syndication.highwire.org/content/doi/10.1136/jech-2013-203270 en eng BMJ Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health volume 68, issue 4, page 363-369 ISSN 0143-005X 1470-2738 journal-article 2014 crjcrbmj https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2013-203270 2024-06-06T04:15:49Z Background Household crowding is an important problem in some aboriginal communities that is reaching particularly high levels among the circumpolar Inuit. Living in overcrowded conditions may endanger health via stress pathophysiology. This study examines whether higher household crowding is associated with stress-related physiological dysregulations among the Inuit. Methods Cross-sectional data on 822 Inuit adults were taken from the 2004 Qanuippitaa? How are we? Nunavik Inuit Health Survey. Chronic stress was measured using the concept of allostatic load (AL) representing the multisystemic biological ‘wear and tear’ of chronic stress. A summary index of AL was constructed using 14 physiological indicators compiled into a traditional count-based index and a binary variable that contrasted people at risk on at least seven physiological indicators. Household crowding was measured using indicators of household size (total number of people and number of children per house) and overcrowding defined as more than one person per room. Data were analysed using weighted Generalised Estimating Equations controlling for participants’ age, sex, income, diet and involvement in traditional activities. Results Higher household crowding was significantly associated with elevated AL levels and with greater odds of being at risk on at least seven physiological indicators, especially among women and independently of individuals’ characteristics. Conclusions This study demonstrates that household crowding is a source of chronic stress among the Inuit of Nunavik. Differential housing conditions are shown to be a marker of health inequalities among this population. Housing conditions are a critical public health issue in many aboriginal communities that must be investigated further to inform healthy and sustainable housing strategies. Article in Journal/Newspaper inuit Nunavik The BMJ Nunavik Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 68 4 363 369 |
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Background Household crowding is an important problem in some aboriginal communities that is reaching particularly high levels among the circumpolar Inuit. Living in overcrowded conditions may endanger health via stress pathophysiology. This study examines whether higher household crowding is associated with stress-related physiological dysregulations among the Inuit. Methods Cross-sectional data on 822 Inuit adults were taken from the 2004 Qanuippitaa? How are we? Nunavik Inuit Health Survey. Chronic stress was measured using the concept of allostatic load (AL) representing the multisystemic biological ‘wear and tear’ of chronic stress. A summary index of AL was constructed using 14 physiological indicators compiled into a traditional count-based index and a binary variable that contrasted people at risk on at least seven physiological indicators. Household crowding was measured using indicators of household size (total number of people and number of children per house) and overcrowding defined as more than one person per room. Data were analysed using weighted Generalised Estimating Equations controlling for participants’ age, sex, income, diet and involvement in traditional activities. Results Higher household crowding was significantly associated with elevated AL levels and with greater odds of being at risk on at least seven physiological indicators, especially among women and independently of individuals’ characteristics. Conclusions This study demonstrates that household crowding is a source of chronic stress among the Inuit of Nunavik. Differential housing conditions are shown to be a marker of health inequalities among this population. Housing conditions are a critical public health issue in many aboriginal communities that must be investigated further to inform healthy and sustainable housing strategies. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Riva, Mylene Plusquellec, Pierrich Juster, Robert-Paul Laouan-Sidi, Elhadji A Abdous, Belkacem Lucas, Michel Dery, Serge Dewailly, Eric |
spellingShingle |
Riva, Mylene Plusquellec, Pierrich Juster, Robert-Paul Laouan-Sidi, Elhadji A Abdous, Belkacem Lucas, Michel Dery, Serge Dewailly, Eric Household crowding is associated with higher allostatic load among the Inuit |
author_facet |
Riva, Mylene Plusquellec, Pierrich Juster, Robert-Paul Laouan-Sidi, Elhadji A Abdous, Belkacem Lucas, Michel Dery, Serge Dewailly, Eric |
author_sort |
Riva, Mylene |
title |
Household crowding is associated with higher allostatic load among the Inuit |
title_short |
Household crowding is associated with higher allostatic load among the Inuit |
title_full |
Household crowding is associated with higher allostatic load among the Inuit |
title_fullStr |
Household crowding is associated with higher allostatic load among the Inuit |
title_full_unstemmed |
Household crowding is associated with higher allostatic load among the Inuit |
title_sort |
household crowding is associated with higher allostatic load among the inuit |
publisher |
BMJ |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2013-203270 https://syndication.highwire.org/content/doi/10.1136/jech-2013-203270 |
geographic |
Nunavik |
geographic_facet |
Nunavik |
genre |
inuit Nunavik |
genre_facet |
inuit Nunavik |
op_source |
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health volume 68, issue 4, page 363-369 ISSN 0143-005X 1470-2738 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2013-203270 |
container_title |
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health |
container_volume |
68 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
363 |
op_container_end_page |
369 |
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1802646216847130624 |