How discrimination and environmental racism add stress to the bodies of Latino youth
Official title: Allostatic Load in Latino Youth (ALLY) study: The Role of Discrimination and Environmental Racism
Funded at California State University Northridge · NIH-11124735 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Looks at how discrimination and environmental racism put chronic stress on the body and may raise future diabetes risk for Latino adolescents and young adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | California State University Northridge NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Northridge, United States) |
| Project start | August 5, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $178,590 |
| NIH project number | 5R16GM146675-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11124735 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Latino/Hispanic adolescents and young adults (roughly ages 12–21) who can complete surveys and provide blood or other biospecimens are the ideal participants.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not Latino/Hispanic or those seeking immediate clinical treatment for diabetes are unlikely to receive direct clinical benefit from participation.
What this research studies
If you join, researchers will ask about your experiences of racial or ethnic discrimination and about neighborhood or environmental conditions, and collect health information and biological samples. They will measure multiple stress-related biomarkers (an allostatic load profile) from blood and other tests alongside surveys to create a combined stress score. The team will link these biological measures to the social and environmental experiences reported by Latino youth to identify patterns tied to higher cardiometabolic risk. Findings aim to highlight which stressors most strongly relate to early signs of diabetes risk so prevention efforts can be better targeted.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could help identify biological signs of stress that predict higher diabetes risk in Latino youth and point to prevention strategies.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research has linked chronic stress and elevated allostatic load to greater cardiometabolic risk, but applying detailed discrimination-focused allostatic profiling specifically in Latino youth is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
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California State University Northridge
Northridge, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Toledo-Corral, Claudia Michele — California State University Northridge
- Study coordinator: Toledo-Corral, Claudia Michele
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.