Psychological stress alters gut microbes and ages blood stem cells, mouse study suggests

Psychological stress is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for certain health conditions, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes, especially when paired with an impaired immune response.

In a study in Cell Stem Cell, researchers describe a mechanism in mice that explains this association: Psychological stress speeds aging-like changes in the body's blood-forming stem cells in the bone marrow—called hematopoietic stem cells—by altering the intestinal microbiota. ...