If we list common factors that make people look and feel older, things like sun exposure, chronic stress, and smoking usually come to mind. But researchers suggest there may be another surprising contributor: worrying about aging itself could also leave a biological imprint on the body.
Anxiety around the ageing process—particularly fears linked to declining health—may trigger changes in gene activity that accelerate ageing, according to a study of 726 midlife women published in the February 2026 issue of Psychoneuroendocrinology . The findings showed that women who reported higher levels of anxiety about ageing also displayed faster epigenetic ageing, meaning their cells appeared biologically older based on gene activity patterns.
