Stress at work does not increase breast cancer risk
Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist
A study shows that women with stressful jobs do not have an increased risk of breast cancer.
It is commonly believed that stress may be linked to cancer, but the evidence on this is conflicting. Now doctors at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard University reveal that work-related stress is not a risk factor.
They asked more than 37,500 women about stress at work and then noted who developed breast cancer over the next eight years. There proved to be no association between employment stress and breast cancer. In fact, women in so-called ‘active’ jobs – with high demands but the power to make decisions – had a 17 per cent decreased risk of cancer compared to those in ‘low strain’ jobs, where they had a lot of control over limited work demands. The findings should provide some reassurance to women who are concerned that workplace stress might be harming their health.
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology December 2004