Investigating Racial Differences in Allostatic Load by Educational Attainment among Non-Hispanic Black and White Men

Education continues to be a key factor contributing to increased access to critical life-improving opportunities and has been found to be protective against Allostatic Load (AL). The purpose of this study was to assess AL among Non-Hispanic (NH) White and NH Black men with the same level of education. We used 1999–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) data with an analytical sample of 6472 men (1842 NH Black and 4630 NH White), and nine biomarkers to measure AL, controlling for various demographic and health-related factors. NH Black men had a higher AL score than NH White men (39.1%, 842 vs. 37.7%, 1,975). Racial disparities in AL between NH Black and NH White men who have a college degree or above (PR: 1.49, CI: [1.24–1.80]) were observed. Models posited similar AL differences at every other level of education, although these were not statistically significant. The findings reveal that socioeconomic returns to education and the societal protective mechanisms associated with education vary greatly between White and Black men.