The widow of Dr David Kelly says she noticed a change in him in the weeks before his death.
Mr Janice Kelly said her whole family had noticed a change in him. She said: "He became very much more taciturn, more difficult to talk to, more tense, more withdrawn."
She said it was particularly noticeable at the end of June but added: "We were worried about him before then. He seemed to be under a little bit of strain in terms of travelling. He was tired and looking his age; he seemed to have aged quite a bit."
Her husband had looked forward to his trip to Iraq but had realised he was not as young as during the previous inspections, she told the inquiry.
Mrs Kelly said she was aware her husband planned to meet BBC reporter Mr Andrew Gilligan on May 22nd.
But she added: "He would never tell me about the nature of his meetings. Generally it was for briefings." Dr Kelly was interested in learning about the reporter's travels in Iraq, she added.
She said she did not know about her husband's letter to his manager at the Ministry of Defence, in which he put himself forward as the possible source for Mr Gilligan's report, at the end of June.
"I was quite worried about him at this time. I was really getting quite anxious."