Anxiety about aging may accelerate biological aging at the cellular level, according to a new study published in a health research journal. Researchers analyzed data from 726 women participating in a study of middle-aged people in the United States, calculating their biological aging—their age based on the wear-and-tear their bodies have experienced—and found that worries over getting older were significantly associated with accelerated aging.
Mariana Rodrigues, a doctoral student at the NYU School of Global Public Health, led the research. “Our research suggests that subjective experiences may be driving objective measures of aging,” Rodrigues said in a news release. She noted that “this anxiety is not merely a psychological concern, but may leave a mark on the body with real health consequences.”
Strongest Association with Health Concerns
Worrying about declining health had the strongest association with accelerated biological aging. Rodrigues explained that “women in midlife may also be multiple in roles, including caring for their aging parents. As they see older family members grow older and become sick, they may worry about whether the same thing will happen to them.” Researchers found that other worries were not associated with accelerated aging, suggesting that health-related concerns persist over time while other anxieties may be more transient.
Senior researcher Adolfo Cuevas, an associate professor of social and behavioral sciences at NYU School of Global Public Health, characterized anxiety about aging “as a measurable and modifiable psychological determinant that seems to be shaping aging biology.” The results serve as a reminder that mental and physical health are tightly connected across a person’s lifespan. However, the researchers noted that they couldn’t rule out that other factors might also influence the speed at which a person ages.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://us.headtopics.com/news/worried-about-getting-older-you-could-be-contributing-to-79634723