New Study Stress Causes Premature Aging, DNA Damage

Scientists have identified the first direct link between stress and aging, a finding that could explain why intense, long-term emotional strain can make people get sick and grow old before their time.

Chronic stress appears to hasten the shriveling of the tips of the bundles of genes inside cells, which shortens their lifespan and speeds the body's deterioration, according to a study involving 39 mothers caring for chronically-ill children.

If the findings published (on 11/30/04) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences are confirmed, they could provide the first explanation on a cellular level for the well-documented association between psychological stress and increased risk of physical disease, as well as the common perception that unrelenting emotional pressure accelerates the aging process.

"There is this deeply held belief that stress leads to premature aging," said Elissa Epel of the University of California at San Francisco who helped conduct the research. But this is the first evidence suggesting how that aging happens.

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