Study: Stress May Double Risk of Breast Cancer

Stress caused by conflicts at home or work may increase the risk of breast cancer, according to Swedish researchers.

A study of women in Sweden, conducted over almost a quarter of a century, showed that women who reported high levels of stress at the start -- including tension, fear, anxiety and sleeplessness -- were twice as likely to develop breast cancer.

Researchers have looked for a link between stress and cancer for more than a decade but no clear findings have previously emerged.

"Although our study does show a significant association between stress and breast cancer, I would emphasis that more research needs to be carried out before it can be said that stress definitely increases a risk," said Osten Helgesson.

But in this study, researchers from the Sahlgrenska Academy in Sweden interviewed 1,350 healthy women in 1968 and asked them if they had suffered stress for a month or longer in the previous five years.

Over the next 24 years, 24 of the 456 women who had experienced stress (5.3 per cent) developed breast cancer. In comparison, 23 of the 894 women who said they suffered no stress (2.5 per cent) developed breast cancer.

Other Sources: European Cancer Conference