AbstractGrowing evidence suggests that lower socioeco-nomic position (SEP) communities may be more susceptible to environmental exposures. SEP, however, represents a com-plexmix of social and environmental exposures accumulating
over the lifecourse, and those components that most impact susceptibility remain undetermined. One plausible hypothesis is that the chronic psychological stress associated with stressors in many lower-SEP communities (e.g., housing in stability, food insecurity, fear of violence) may lead to altered immune, endocrine, andmetabolic function. These alterations, together with environmental exposures, may ultimately con-tribute to increased risk of developing a variety of chronic diseases