Khaberni - An international research team found no conclusive evidence that negative psychological and social factors, such as feelings of loneliness, stress, neuroticism, and depression, increase the risk of cancer.
The scientists analyzed data from more than 421,000 people to study the impact of losing a loved one, neuroticism, and overall stress on the development and progression of different types of cancer.
The results showed that there is no association between psychological and social factors and an increased risk of cancer in general.
The researchers reached similar conclusions for several common types of malignant tumors, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon and rectal cancer. The data also did not show any confirmed association with types of cancer for which alcohol is considered a common risk factor.
For lung cancer, some individual statistical associations were noted with certain psychological and social indicators, such as self-assessment of support by those around, absence of a partner, and loss of a close person. However, after considering known risk factors, including smoking and familial genetic factors, most of these associations disappeared.
The researchers concluded that the popular notion that poor psychological state or psychological and social stress factors increase the risk of cancer was not confirmed, and that the minor effects observed in individual cases are often due to unhealthy behaviors.
The results of the study were published in the American journal Cancer.
