Men and women below «stress chronic» they are at a significantly higher risk of dying from cancer: reveals a new study. The discovery comes from an analysis of more than three decades of American data from an internal health and nutrition survey. After targeting a number of influential factors, including race, gender, and previous medical history, the researchers found that stress triggers a «14% increased risk of death from cancer». Here are the determining factors.
Stress and cancer, what happens
The lead author of the study, Justin Moore, explained that the link is due to a concept known as “allostatic load”. This is a measure of cumulative stress, or body wear, due to what Moore described it as «stressors throughout life». Moore, a professor in the prevention, control and health program at the Medical College of Georgia, noted that allostatic load levels can be measured on a different scale. To do this, experts look at some key biological indicators that together show exactly how stress affects the body.
Tumors, «here is the pandemic of young adults». Nutrition, (lack of) sleep and alcohol: cancer boom unveiled in new study
THE INDICATORS – These stress indicators include a high body mass index, a key indicator for obesity; high blood pressure; high blood sugar or cholesterol levels; and / or elevated blood levels of a protein produced by the liver called albumin. Elevated levels of creatinine, a waste product of normal muscle wear, «they are also a marker of allostatic load stress»Moore noted. High levels of C-reactive protein, a sign of system-wide inflammation, are also decisive. To see how those indicators – and allostatic load as a whole – could impact cancer deaths, Moore’s team looked at nationwide health survey data collected between 1988 and 2019. Overall, the polls included more than 41,000 adults: more than seven in 10 were white, about 13% were black, and about 9% were Hispanic.
The allostatic load levels of all participants were counted on a scale of 0 to 9, with scores of 3 or more defined as indicative of “high allostatic load”. Overall, just under half of the participants (nearly 20,000) were considered to have a high allostatic load. These respondents were more likely to be black, older, less educated, and less affluent than the low allostatic load group. The researchers then evaluated the link between high allostatic load and the risk of death from cancer in several ways.
Over time, men and women under chronic stress face a significantly higher risk that they will die as a result of cancer, a new study warns. The finding comes from analyzing more than three decades of U.S. data from a federal health and nutrition survey. https://t.co/gOJloaZqEX pic.twitter.com/utnAktYfy1
— Stephanie Pruitt (@Stephan97415707) October 23, 2022
EXAMPLES – For example, after eliminating age as a factor, a high allostatic load was linked to a 28% higher risk of death from cancer. Looking exclusively at black and Hispanic respondents, the link was weaker, but the researchers said the relatively low number of non-white respondents may have influenced that part of the analysis. However, when gender, race, age, and educational background were also removed from the equation, a higher risk of death from cancer was set at 21%. And that dropped to a 14% risk increase after researchers also took into account the patients’ history of smoking, previous heart attack, or previous history of cancer or congestive heart failure.
Without adjusting to potential confounding factors (such as age, race, gender, income, and education level), those with high allostatic load were 2.4 times more likely to die of cancer than those with low allostatic loads, the researchers reported. . «Cumulative stress is associated with the risk of death from cancer» across the board, Moore wrote in his report. To address this link, Moore said it would be important to adopt clinical and public health strategies to reduce chronic stress and inflammation. These could include efforts such as “providing culturally sensitive, competent and affordable resources in primary care settings during cancer care itself.”
“Visible” tumors in the blood: the sample identifies them before symptoms appear
Dr. Jonah Zuflacht is a neurologist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. In 2017, he conducted a large Columbia University study that identified an equally strong link between stress and a significantly higher risk of stroke. Regarding a specific link between stress, cancer risk, and tumor progression, Zuflacht suggested that stress may make the immune system less able to identify and fight cancer as it develops. More generally, he said, the impact of stress is still not fully understood. «If nothing else, it is probably little recognized»said Zuflacht. «Because it seems that there are a myriad of deleterious effects it can have, both on the cardiovascular system and on those processes that allow the development of cancer cells».
© breaking latest news