A new study by Danish researchers suggests that high levels of stress may actually lower a woman's chances of getting breast cancer. This contradicts the findings of earlier studies which say that constant stress may double a woman's chances of developing the deadly disease.
The distinction made by the present study which was published in the latest issue of the 'British Medical Journal' is that regular doses of stress are good while short, acute stress such as a death in the family, is harmful.
The study examined the answers given by 7,000 women living in Copenhagen between 1981 and 1983. The study followed these women for the next 18 years. A total of 251 of them developed breast cancer during that time.
According to the authors of the study, women who reported high stress levels were 40 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than those who reported lower levels of stress. The higher the stress level, the less likely the volunteers were to develop breast cancer. For purposes of the study, stress was defined as tension, nervousness, impatience, anxiety, or sleeplessness.
The leader of the study, Dr. Naja Nielsen, indicated that one possible explanation for the findings are that high levels of stress have an affect on estrogen levels and the amount of estrogen in the blood has a connection with the possible development of breast cancer.
Nielsen also denied that there was necessarily a contradiction between this study and previous research.
'A greater risk of breast cancer associated with stressful life events is not necessarily in contrast with a lower risk of breast cancer associated with daily stress,' the study concluded.
In addition, the researchers noted the myriad of problems associated with prolonged stress.
'Stress-induced disturbances ... cannot be considered a healthy response, and prolonged stress may have harmful effects on a range of other diseases, especially [heart] diseases,' they wrote.
Additional research in this area is expected in the near future.
