BMJ  2005;331 (10 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7516.0-a

Chronic stress protects from breast cancer

Exposure to chronic stress protects women from breast cancer, probably by impairing endogenous synthesis of oestrogen. A prospective cohort study by Nielsen and colleagues (p 548), involving 6689 women, a follow-up of 12 years, and loss to follow-up of less than 0.1%, showed that women with high levels of stress had a 40% lower risk of getting first time primary breast cancer. Moreover, the researchers found a dose-response relation, and the protective effect of stress was more pronounced in women receiving hormone therapy. Still, the cumulative consequences of stress on health may be disadvantageous, authors warn.

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Self reported stress and risk of breast cancer: prospective cohort study

Naja Rod Nielsen, Zuo-Feng Zhang, Tage S Kristensen, Bo Netterstrøm, Peter Schnohr, and Morten Grønbæk
BMJ 2005 331: 548. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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