Editorial perspective: Psychological stress and epigenetic aging - What can we learn and how can we prevent?

Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults

Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., Koss, M. P., & Marks, J. S. (1998) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0749-3797(98)00017-8 · Cited by 18,943 · see citing works

DNA methylation age of human tissues and cell types

Horvath, S. (2013) · Genome Biology · doi:10.1186/gb-2013-14-10-r115 · Cited by 7,075 · see citing works

Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress

Epel, E. S., Blackburn, E. H., Lin, J., Dhabhar, F. S., Adler, N. E., Morrow, J. D., & Cawthon, R. M. (2004) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0407162101 · Cited by 3,002 · see citing works

DNA methylation age of blood predicts all-cause mortality in later life

Marioni, R. E., Shah, S., McRae, A. F., Chen, B. H., Colicino, E., Harris, S. E., Gibson, J., Henders, A. K., Redmond, P., Cox, S. R., et al. (2015) · Genome Biology · doi:10.1186/s13059-015-0584-6 · Cited by 1,261 · see citing works

Obesity accelerates epigenetic aging of human liver

Horvath, S., Erhart, W., Brosch, M., Ammerpohl, O., Schönfels, W. V., Ahrens, M., Heits, N., Bell, J. T., Tsai, P.-C., Spector, T. D., et al. (2014) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1412759111 · Cited by 760 · see citing works

Lifetime stress accelerates epigenetic aging in an urban, African American cohort: Relevance of glucocorticoid signaling

Zannas, A. S., Arloth, J., Carrillo-Roa, T., Iurato, S., Röh, S., Ressler, K. J., Nemeroff, C. B., Smith, A. K., Bradley, B., Heim, C., et al. (2015) · Genome Biology · doi:10.1186/s13059-015-0828-5 · Cited by 469 · see citing works

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Incidence of Coronary Heart Disease

Vaccarino, V., Goldberg, J., Rooks, C., Shah, A. J., Veledar, E., Faber, T. L., Votaw, J. R., Forsberg, C. W., & Bremner, J. D. (2013) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2013.04.085 · Cited by 247 · see citing works

Longitudinal changes of telomere length and epigenetic age related to traumatic stress and post-traumatic stress disorder

Boks, M. P., Mierlo, H. C. V., Rutten, B. P. F., Radstake, T. R. D. J., De Witte, L., Geuze, E., Horvath, S., Schalkwyk, L. C., Vinkers, C. H., Broen, J. C. A., et al. (2015) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.07.011 · Cited by 231 · see citing works

Effects of Chronic Stress on Memory Decline in Cognitively Normal and Mildly Impaired Older Adults

Peavy, G. M., Salmon, D. P., Jacobson, M. W., Hervey, A. S., Gamst, A. C., Wolfson, T. J., Patterson, T. L., Goldman, S., Mills, P. J., Khandrika, S., et al. (2009) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09040461 · Cited by 186 · see citing works

Family‐centered prevention ameliorates the longitudinal association between risky family processes and epigenetic aging

Brody, G. H., Yu, T., Chen, E., Beach, S. R. H., & Miller, G. E. (2015) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.12495 · Cited by 174 · see citing works

DNA methylation-based biomarkers and the epigenetic clock theory of ageing

Horvath, S., & Raj, K. (2018) · Nature Reviews Genetics · doi:10.1038/s41576-018-0004-3 · Cited by 3,095 · see citing works

GrimAge Outperforms Other Epigenetic Clocks in the Prediction of Age-Related Clinical Phenotypes and All-Cause Mortality

McCrory, C., Fiorito, G., Hernandez, B., Polidoro, S., O’Halloran, A. M., Hever, A., Ni Cheallaigh, C., Lu, A. T., Horvath, S., Vineis, P., et al. (2021) · The Journals of Gerontology: Series A · doi:10.1093/gerona/glaa286 · Cited by 464 · see citing works

The applied implications of epigenetics in anxiety, affective and stress-related disorders - A review and synthesis on psychosocial stress, psychotherapy and prevention

Schiele, M. A., Gottschalk, M. G., & Domschke, K. (2020) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101830 · Cited by 156 · see citing works

Life stress, glucocorticoid signaling, and the aging epigenome: Implications for aging-related diseases

Gassen, N. C., Chrousos, G. P., Binder, E. B., & Zannas, A. S. (2016) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.06.003 · Cited by 124 · see citing works

Epigenetic correlates of neonatal contact in humans

Moore, S. R., McEwen, L. M., Quirt, J., Morin, A. M., Mah, S. M., Barr, R. G., Boyce, W. T., & Kobor, M. S. (2017) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579417001213 · Cited by 91 · see citing works

Psychological Distress and Social Functioning in Elderly Spanish People: A Gender Analysis

Aznar, M. P. M., & García, M. C. (2019) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph16030341 · Cited by 86 · see citing works

Non‐mammalian Hosts and Photobiomodulation: Do All Life‐forms Respond to Light?

Hamblin, M. R., Huang, Y., & Heiskanen, V. (2019) · Photochemistry and Photobiology · doi:10.1111/php.12951 · Cited by 58 · see citing works

Carrying human infants – An evolutionary heritage

Berecz, B., Cyrille, M., Casselbrant, U., Oleksak, S., & Norholt, H. (2020) · Infant Behavior and Development · doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2020.101460 · Cited by 38 · see citing works

Are housing circumstances associated with faster epigenetic ageing?

Clair, A., Baker, E., & Kumari, M. (2024) · Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health · doi:10.1136/jech-2023-220523 · Cited by 33 · see citing works

Epigenetic Mechanisms in Aging: Extrinsic Factors and Gut Microbiome

Borrego-Ruiz, A., & Borrego, J. J. (2024) · Genes · doi:10.3390/genes15121599 · Cited by 33 · see citing works

The Effectiveness of Combining Visual Art Activities and Physical Exercise for Older Adults on Well-Being or Quality of Life and Mood: A Scoping Review

Roswiyani, R., Kwakkenbos, L., Spijker, J., & Witteman, C. L. M. (2017) · Journal of Applied Gerontology · doi:10.1177/0733464817743332 · Cited by 34 · see citing works

Role of Endogenous Glucocorticoids in Cancer in the Elderly

Ayroldi, E., Cannarile, L., Adorisio, S., Delfino, D. V., & Riccardi, C. (2018) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms19123774 · Cited by 27 · see citing works

Fundamental Clock of Biological Aging: Convergence of Molecular, Neurodegenerative, Cognitive and Psychiatric Pathways: Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics Meet Psychology

Dyakin, V. V., Dyakina‐Fagnano, N. V., McIntire, L. B., & Uversky, V. N. (2021) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms23010285 · Cited by 19 · see citing works

The Epigenetic Clock and Aging

Raj, K. (2017) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-811060-7.00004-8 · Cited by 17 · see citing works

Association of 4 epigenetic clocks with measures of functional health, cognition, and all-cause mortality in The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)Preprint

McCrory, C., Fiorito, G., Hernández, B., Polidoro, S., O’Halloran, A. M., Hever, A. M., Cheallaigh, C. N., Lu, A. T.-H., Horvath, S., Vineis, P., et al. (2020) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2020.04.27.063164 · Cited by 10 · see citing works

The Growth of Healthy and Cancerous Tissues

Szigeti, G. P., Szász, A. M., & Szász, A. (2020) · Open Journal of Biophysics · doi:10.4236/ojbiphy.2020.103010 · Cited by 5 · see citing works

Chronic stress in old age: Psychometric properties of the Trier Inventory of Chronic Stress (TICS), based on a general population sample aged 60 and over

Friedrich, F., Hinz, A., Bjelopavlovic, M., Brähler, E., & Petrowski, K. (2023) · Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics · doi:10.1016/j.archger.2023.105138 · Cited by 4 · see citing works

Arrow of Time, Entropy, and Protein Folding: Holistic View on Biochirality

Dyakin, V. V., & Uversky, V. N. (2022) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms23073687 · Cited by 4 · see citing works

MiRNA-3Age: a microRNA-based biological age model and its modulation by lifestyle and nutrition

Schneider, J., Preyer, C., Steil, M., Biazid, M., Pointner, A., Haslberger, A. G., & Hippe, B. (2025) · Frontiers in Nutrition · doi:10.3389/fnut.2025.1659730 · Cited by 3 · see citing works

Social Engagement and Epigenetic Age Acceleration in the Health and Retirement Study

Zhao, H., Xu, Y., Liu, Q., Ji, Q., Li, J., Meng, Y., Li, L., Tang, L., Wang, Y., Zhang, J., et al. (2026) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/jgs.70350 · Cited by 3 · see citing works

Biological Stress as a Principle of Nature: A Review of Literature

Cortez, C. M., & Silva, D. (2020) · Open Journal of Biophysics · doi:10.4236/ojbiphy.2020.103012 · Cited by 2 · see citing works

Does leisure activity matter for epigenetic aging? Analyses of arts engagement and physical activity in the UK Household Longitudinal Study

Fancourt, D. E., Masebo, L., Finn, S., Mak, H. W., & Bu, F. (2026) · Innovation in Aging · doi:10.1093/geroni/igag038 · Cited by 1 · see citing works

Does frequency or diversity of leisure activity matter more for epigenetic ageing? Analyses of arts engagement and physical activityPreprint

Fancourt, D. E., Masebo, L., Finn, S., Mak, H. W., & Bu, F. (2024) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2024.11.01.24316559 · Cited by 1 · see citing works

Hidden stressors and patient motivations: the role of the aesthetic nurse

Cairns, K. (2023) · Journal of Aesthetic Nursing · doi:10.12968/joan.2023.12.4.170

Epidemiological determinants of aging

Jovanović, A., Maric, G. D., & Pekmezovic, T. D. (2024) · Medicinski podmladak · doi:10.5937/mp75-52325

A clinically practical aging clock (physical clock) for healthy aging: development, validation, and application for health assessment and intervention

Wang, X., Pang, J., Yu, X., Zhang, X., Wang, S., Pan, Q., Chen, A., Xu, L., Li, N., Li, X., et al. (2026) · Science China Life Sciences · doi:10.1007/s11427-025-3416-1

Age specificity in chronic stress: psychometric properties and factorial structure for higher age of the short version of the Trier Inventory of Chronic Stress

Schmalbach, B., Bjelopavlovic, M., Brähler, E., & Petrowski, K. (2026) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2026.2692566

Epigenetics as a key link between psychosocial stress and aging: concepts, evidence, mechanisms

Zannas, A. S. (2019) · Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience · doi:10.31887/dcns.2019.21.4/azannas · Cited by 69 · see citing works

Psychosocial stress and epigenetic aging

Palma‐Gudiel, H., Fañanás, L., Horvath, S., & Zannas, A. S. (2019) · International review of neurobiology · doi:10.1016/bs.irn.2019.10.020 · Cited by 101 · see citing works

Lifetime Stress Accelerates Epigenetic Aging

Zannas, A. S., Carrillo‐Roa, T., Iurato, S., Ressler, K. J., Nemeroff, C. B., Smith, A. K., Lange, J. F., Bradley, B., Heim, C. M., Brückl, T. M., et al. (2015) · European Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0924-9338(15)31949-0 · Cited by 1 · see citing works

Molecular pathways linking chronic psychological stress to accelerated aging: mechanisms and interventions

Alhazzaa, O. A., Abahussin, H. M., Majrashi, M. A., Alotaibi, M. S., Alkhrayef, M. N., Alhamdan, Z. A., & Alawad, A. O. (2026) · Frontiers in Aging · doi:10.3389/fragi.2026.1743142 · Cited by 5 · see citing works

Psychological stress and epigenetic aging in older men: The VA normative aging study

Nwanaji‐Enwerem, J. C., Cárdenas, A., Gao, X., Wang, C., Vokonas, P., Spiro, A., Osborne, A. D., Kosheleva, A., Hou, L., Baccarelli, A., et al. (2023) · Translational Medicine of Aging · doi:10.1016/j.tma.2023.06.003 · Cited by 8 · see citing works