Body wear and tear due to stress increases risk of cancer death

Body wear and tear due to chronic stress can increase the chances of dying from cancer by 2.4 times. The work of researchers from the Medical College of Georgia was published in the journal SSM Population Health.

In response to stress, the body releases the hormone cortisol, the level of which decreases once a person gets rid of the cause of stress. However, if stress has become chronic, the body continuously produces this hormone. Symptoms of elevated cortisol levels can include high blood pressure, mood swings, irritability and others. All of these things wear down the body.

In the study, scientists evaluated data on 41,000 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which was conducted from 1988 to 2019. Researchers calculated participants' allostatic load (the wear and tear the body undergoes during chronic stress) based on their body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, hemoglobin, albumin, creatinine and C-reactive protein (an indicator of inflammation).

As a result, the researchers found that people with high allostatic load were 2.4 times more likely to die from cancer than people with low allostatic load.
 

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