The study, led by Mariana Rodrigues at New York University’s School of Global Public Health and published in Psychoneuroendocrinology, used data from 726 women in the MIDUS study. Participants answered questions about three kinds of worry: becoming less attractive, having more health issues, and being too old to have children.
Researchers also collected blood samples and measured biological aging with two epigenetic clocks: DunedinPACE, which captures the pace of aging, and GrimAge2, which estimates cumulative biological damage. Greater anxiety about growing old was associated with accelerated epigenetic aging as measured by DunedinPACE, and worry about declining health showed the strongest link. Concerns about attractiveness and fertility were not significantly associated.
The authors note limits: the study measured anxiety and biomarkers at one time point, so other explanations are possible. After adjusting for behaviors such as smoking and alcohol use, the association decreased and was no longer significant.
Difficult words
- epigenetic — relating to chemical changes that affect genes
- biomarker — a biological sign that shows body conditionbiomarkers
- anxiety — a strong worried feeling about future events
- accelerate — to make a process happen more quicklyaccelerated
- association — a connection or relationship between things
- adjust — to change something to make it more correctadjusting
- cumulative — increasing by adding parts together
- significant — large enough to be important or real
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you think measuring anxiety and biomarkers at one time point is enough to show a cause? Why or why not?
- Which of the three worries (attractiveness, health, fertility) would you expect to affect people’s health most, and why?
- How could changes in behaviors such as smoking and alcohol use change the link between anxiety and biological aging?
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