Emotional and instrumental support during childhood and biological dysregulation in midlife

Objective: To determine whether greater emotional and instrumental support during childhood is associated with less dysregulation across multiple physiological systems in midlife. Methods: Data are from participants in the second wave of the Midlife in the United States study (2004-2005) who participated in a clinic-based assessment of health status. Emotional and instrumental support was measured using a seven-item scale (α= 0.89) based on participant retrospective self-report. Biological dysregulation was assessed using an allostatic load (AL) score constructed from 24 measures across seven physiological systems (N= 1236, aged 34-84 years). Results: Emotional and instrumental support in childhood was associated with lower AL in a monotonic fashion: compared to individuals in the lowest quartile of support, respondents in the second, third, and fourth quartiles had - 0.08 (standard deviation (SD). = 0.08), - 0.13 (SD = 0.08) and - 0.21 (SD = 0.08) units lower AL, adjusting for age, sex, and race. This pattern was maintained after adjustment for reporting bias, childhood socioeconomic disadvantage, past-year depression, and physician-diagnosed cardiovascular disease or diabetes (p≤ 0.01). The inflammation and metabolic-lipid subscales showed the strongest associations. Conclusions: Greater emotional and instrumental support in childhood was associated with less biological dysregulation in midlife, even after accounting for socioeconomic disadvantage in childhood and other potential confounders.