What this means
Allostatic load (AL) reflects multisystem physiological dysregulation, whereas intrinsic capacity (IC) reflects functional reserve. We examined whether cross-classification of AL and IC identified distinct risk profiles for adverse ageing outcomes.
A plain-English summary is on its way. Until then, this is the start of the authors' own summary.
- Who it was tested in
- Not stated
- Kind of research
- A study
The science
- Original title
- Allostatic load-intrinsic capacity phenotypes and adverse ageing outcomes in middle-aged and older Chinese adults.
- Authors
- Feng X, Dai J, Chen F et al.
- Journal
- Archives of gerontology and geriatrics
- Published
- Oct 18, 2026
- Study type
- Study
- PMID
- 42892261 ↗
Abstract
Background
Allostatic load (AL) reflects multisystem physiological dysregulation, whereas intrinsic capacity (IC) reflects functional reserve. We examined whether cross-classification of AL and IC identified distinct risk profiles for adverse ageing outcomes.
What they did
Among 11,190 otherwise eligible participants, 8695 had sufficient AL and IC information for the non-fatal analyses, and all-cause mortality was analysed in a baseline risk set of 8973. AL was calculated from 11 biomarkers, and IC was operationalised as a proxy-based, prorated 0-9 score across five domains. Discrete-time logistic models with participant-level robust standard errors were fitted to 2011-2018 person-period data.
What they found
Both low-IC phenotypes were associated with higher odds of functional limitation and hospitalisation compared with the low AL + high IC reference phenotype. The high AL + low IC phenotype had the largest point estimates for activities of daily living (ADL)/instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) limitation (OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.63-2.15), ADL limitation (OR 2.83, 2.37-3.40), and hospitalisation (OR 1.74, 1.52-1.99). For mortality, high AL + low IC had the largest estimate (OR 2.30, 1.74-3.04) and high AL + high IC was also associated with higher mortality (OR 1.84, 1.38-2.46). Multiplicative interactions were not statistically significant. Positive additive interaction on the odds-ratio scale was observed only for ADL limitation (RERI 0.414, 95% CI 0.012-0.804). Joint AL-IC classification identified distinct, outcome-specific risk profiles. Low IC was the more consistent risk dimension for functional limitation and hospitalisation; mortality was associated with the high-AL phenotypes. Incremental predictive performance and clinical utility were not evaluated.
The authors' abstract, grouped under plain headings from its own section labels.
Feng X, Dai J, Chen F et al. Allostatic load-intrinsic capacity phenotypes and adverse ageing outcomes in middle-aged and older Chinese adults. Archives of gerontology and geriatrics. 2026. doi:10.1016/j.archger.2026.106451. PMID: 42892261. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42892261/