Women Age Quicker Due to Phobic Anxiety

One of the latest research done by the scientists at the Brigham and Women's Hospital (a teaching affiliate of Howard Medical School) claims that people who suffer from phobia anxiety are more likely to age faster than those with relatively calm and composed nature.

The researchers found a strong association between common form of anxiety that is termed as phobic anxiety and shorter telomeres in middle aged and older women. Telomeres are the protective ends of chromosomes that keep the genetic information from being lost during cell division. They are considered markers of biological or cellular aging.

 Earlier there were studies done that linked shortened telomere to increase risk of cancer, heart diseases, dementia and mortality. While phobic anxiety is defined as the unreasonable fear o certain situations such as crowds, heights or the outside world.

"Many people wonder about whether - and how - stress can make us age faster," study author Olivia Okereke, said in a statement. "Emerging research has suggested mental distress and mood disorders can put people on a path toward early aging. So, this study is notable for showing a connection between a common form of psychological stress - phobic anxiety - and a plausible mechanism for premature aging," Okereke said.

In order to conduct the study Okereke and he colleagues analyzed information from 23 women. They belonged to the age group between the ranges 42-69 years, who participated in the Nurses' Health study. In order to measure the participant's levels of Phobic anxiety, researchers focused at the answers given by these women. The participants were asked to answer questions like, "Do you have an unreasonable fear of being in enclosed spaces?" and "Do you feel panicky in crowds?" Based on the responses given the researchers taking into account factors like high blood pressure, heart disease, cardiovascular disease and other major medical conditions, they found a link between high scores on questionnaire and shorter telomeres.  The difference in telomere lengths between women who were highly phobic and those who were not was similar to what would be expected between women about six years apart in age.

The study doesn't prove cause and effect, merely an association. During the study the researchers never asked whether or not the participants experienced depression, which may have affected the result.

The study was published on July 11 in the PLos ONE journal.

Okereke concluded saying, "So, this study is notable for showing a connection between a common form of psychological stress, phobic anxiety and a plausible mechanism for premature ageing. However, this type of study design cannot prove cause-and-effect or which problem came first the anxiety or shorter telomeres."