Research from NYU in a sample of more than 700 women showed that worries about aging can accelerate biological aging at the cellular level. Women who felt more anxious about aging showed signs of faster biological aging in their blood, as measured by the epigenetic clock. The strongest link was concern about deteriorating health in the future. Concerns about beauty or fertility did not have the same effect on biological aging. The study thus suggests that the psychological fear of aging can have measurable physical consequences at the molecular level. These findings point to an interrelationship between mental state and the biological processes of aging.