Stress and Breast Cancer

Danish researchers have reported in the British Medical Journal that high stress in women is associated with a lower risk of developing breast cancer. They analyzed a sample of over 6,000 women and found that a high level of everyday stress was linked to a 40% reduction in the occurrence of breast cancer. The researchers explain this as being due to estrogen-suppressing effects of stress. However, they state, quite correctly, that this is not a satisfactory side-effect of stress – “impairment of normal body function should not be considered a healthy response, and the cumulative health consequences of stress may be disadvantageous”.

In fact, the findings are in direct contrast to at least two other studies – one suggesting that increased stress is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer (from Sweden ), the other that it has no effect on cancer at all (from Finland ). It seems the Scandinavians can’t agree on the risk that stress offers. Maybe the individual responses to stress differ between countries? There aren’t any equivalent USA studies, to date.