Booby trap
New research from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine shows that women with stressful jobs are more likely to get breast cancer. This study looked at 36,000 women age 30-50 years for over a decade during which time 767 were diagnosed with breast cancer. They found that women with demanding, full-time jobs with little decision-making authority were 40 per cent more likely to develop the disease. Just how stress increases the risk of breast cancer is unclear. Stress may raise levels of the hormone oestrogen which is linked to this disease. It could be that stress weakens immunity. It may just be that stress encourages people to adopt unhealthy lifestyle practises like drinking more and exercising less.
Kuper H, Yang L, Theorell T, Weiderpass E. 2007. Job Strain and Risk of Breast Cancer. Epidemiology. 18 (6) 764-768.
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
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