Daily stress seems to reduce breast cancer rate

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A study suggests that high levels of daily stress are linked to a decreased risk of developing breast cancer
You might expect that stress predisposes women to breast cancer. In fact, the opposite seems to be true, according to a study carried out at the National Institute of Public Health, Copenhagen. A group of over 6,500 women were followed for 18 years and asked about their routine levels of stress - low, medium or high. Symptoms accompanying the stress included tension, nervousness, anxiety, impatience and sleeplessness.

Over the study period, 251 women diagnosed with first-time breast cancer. Women reporting high levels of stress were 40 per cent less likely to develop breast cancer than those recording lower levels. It may be that high stress has some influence on hormone levels which, in turn, affects breast cancer risk. Findings of this kind have been seen among lab animals but not, so far, in humans. The link between high stress and reduced breast cancer risk is interesting, but does not mean stress is a good thing. It can play a major role in other illnesses, such as heart disease.

Source
British Medical Journal 10th September 2005