Search Here

New studies are suggesting that having anxiety and depression is closely linked to acquiring terminal cancer. Psychological distress can also increase the potentials of dying later in life due to cancer.

The Independent UK cited reports from the BMJ medical journal about how depression and psychological distress can increase the chances of dying from cancer. The study revealed a 32 percent cancer risk due to anxiety and depression. The data was gathered from 160,000 people in the United Kingdom. During the 14-year period, 4,353 deaths from the disease were recorded.

However, the study stresses that the correlation between anxiety, depression, and cancer cannot be treated as evidence. In some cases, people with undiagnosed cancer can get anxious and stressed due to the changes happening in their body despite being aware of their sickness.

The data was gathered from 16 studies, 3 of which are from Scotland and 13 from England. Records were traced back from 1994 up to 2008, Huffington Post UK reports. Several factors that were considered and recorder prior to the study include age, sex, education, socioeconomic status, cigarette intake, alcohol intake and BLI. Some test subjects included in the study did not have cancer.

Dr. David Batty, one of the researchers in the study conducted at the University College London revealed that the people in the least destressed group have lower death rates compared to the group with the most destressed situations. Anxiety and depression levels are higher from prostate cancer patients, those who have cancers of the bowel, pancreas and leukemia.

The study also suggests that the evidence of poor mental health linked with the possibilities of having cancer and dying from it is not in any way predictive. Anxiety and depression are still not considered as actual reasons for acquiring cancer. Further studies will be required to be able to identify if such relationships are genuinely correlated.