Perceived psychological stress is associated with blood DNA methylation differences and suggestive epigenetic aging signatures in young healthy women

Perceived psychological stress (PPS) may be reflected in DNA methylation-based biological variation. We examined associations between PPS and blood DNA methylation in 195 young healthy Chinese women stratified by Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) scores. Genome-wide analysis identified four stress-associated CpG sites. Women in the high-stress group showed suggestively greater DNA methylation–based Facial Age Clock and Pheno Age Clock acceleration than those in the low-stress group. Facial age accelerators also had larger pore diameters and lower skin glossiness. These findings suggest that PPS is associated with distinct blood DNA methylation patterns and related epigenetic aging in early adulthood.