Chronic stress damages your DNA

For the first time, researchers have identified the mechanism by which chronic stress can damage DNA.

By infusing mice with an adrenaline-like compound, the researchers found chronic stress leads to prolonged lowering of a tumour-suppressing protein - p53. The suppression of this protein, the researchers claim, results in the build up of “chromosomal irregularities”.

For years, researchers have associated chronic stress with chromosomal damage but this is the first time a mechanism for that damage has been proposed.