A new study from the Waker Forest University School of Medicine suggests that symptoms of anxiety may speed the progression of certain physical disabilities in older women The study of 1,000 women with physical limitations such as trouble walking or performing other daily routines found that those who reported at least two anxiety symptoms at the outset were at greater risk of their disability worsening over the next 3 years.
Frequent anxiety symptoms -- such as feeling nervous, tense, "shaky" or fearful -- were linked to a 41 percent higher risk of deterioration in what researchers refer to as activities of daily living. These include the basic routines of getting out of bed, bathing, dressing and eating