Study Finds Chronic Psychological Stress Triggers Skin Aging

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Chronic psychological stress significantly impacts skin homeostasis and can trigger the aging of one’s skin, according to recent findings.¹

These data were the conclusion of new research authored in part by Muriel Pujos, from COTY Research and Development in Monaco. Pujos and colleagues highlighted that despite published data on several biological markers of psychological stress and their impact on both immune function and inflammatory markers, little is known on the precise causes of visible skin aging in relation to stress.²

They also noted that only a single known publication specifically made reference to visible signs of aging resulting from psychological stress, and this analysis happened to only cover occupational stress and a specific form of professional activity.³

“The global aim of the present investigations was to evaluate the measurable changes in the skin that anyone could encounter in their life due to moderate chronic PS, through a clinical exploratory study,” Pujos and colleagues wrote.¹

Trial Design

The investigative team conducted their non-interventional study of 40 women who were all in the age range of 35 - 55 years. The participants were chosen by the team based on a set of criteria for inclusion: they had to spend significant time indoors, to be nonsmokers, to abstain from drinking alcohol, to sleep relatively well, and to avoid sunbathing or using sun lamps. Additionally, all subjects kept to a standard diet throughout the analysis.

The research team divided these subjects into 2 cohorts based on their levels of chronic psychological stress, which was determined by the participants’ results on the “Perceived Stress Scale” questionnaire. There were 20 participants who had reported mild levels of stress and 20 with moderate levels.

Chronic psychological distress was by the team as having had a prolonged and consistent feeling of pressure and of being overwhelmed. The investigators, to assess the skin's total antioxidant capacity, employed the FRAP assay through skin samples collected via Corneofix foils.

They assessed participants’ skin surface texture using a 3D microtopography imaging system that was designed to reconstruct the skin's surface in 3 dimensions. Parameters additionally used by the team included measurements of total roughness (Rt), initial roughness (R3z), roughness amplitude mean (RSm), profile peak height (Rp), and peak amplitude mean (S).

The investigators also looked at transepidermal water loss (TEWL) through the use of a Tewameter 300. The resulting data highlighted by the researchers were expressed as means with standard deviations, and statistical significance was set at P < .05.

Findings on Skin Aging

The investigators found that among those in their original cohort, 36 individuals finished the study entirely. It was evenly split between the mild and moderate stress cohorts, with average ages having been 50.2 ± 0.9 years and 49.7 ± 1.1 years for those placed in the mild and moderate stress groups, respectively.

Significantly lower stress scores were determined to be present in the mild stress arm of the study (12.0 ± 0.4) as opposed to those in the moderate stress arm (23.1 ± 0.6, P = .001). These data confirmed a distinction between the 2 levels of stress.

Women included in the moderate stress cohort of the analysis had compromised skin barrier function, significant reductions in antioxidant potential, and more pronounced alterations in their levels of skin microrelief such as fine lines. The findings resulting from the FRAP assay demonstrated that those in the moderate stress category showed a markedly lower antioxidant capacity (119.7 ± 7.5 μMFe2+, a mean reduction of 12.2%, P = .04) as opposed to subjects in the mild category (163.3 ± 5.5 μMFe2+).

The research team noted statistical differences (P < .05) in all of their measured roughness parameters. The team reported that at the cellular level, adverse effects from increased stress hormone levels impacted extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis, DNA integrity, healing of wounds, and skin barrier functionality.

“The present investigations confirm that chronic (psychological stress) impacts skin appearance through stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine, and these studies have provided the first supporting elements,” they wrote. "Further research and clinical studies need to be conducted to confirm these findings.”¹

References

1. ^{Pujos, M., Chamayou-Robert, C., Parat, M., Bonnet, M., Couret, S., Robiolo, A. and Doucet, O. (2024), Impact of Chronic Moderate Psychological Stress on Skin Aging: Exploratory Clinical Study and Cellular Functioning. J Cosmet Dermatol. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocd.16634.}
2. ^{P. H. Wirtz and R. von Känel, “Psychological Stress, Inflammation, and Coronary Heart Disease,” Current Cardiology Reports 19, no. 11 (2017): 111.}
3. ^{O. M. Zanaty, S. El Metainy, R. Abdelmaksoud, H. Demerdash, D. A. Aliaa, and H. A. El Wafa, “Occupational Stress of Anesthesia: Effects on Aging,” Journal of Clinical Anesthesia 39 (2017): 159–164.}