New Study Finds No Substantial Link Between Depression, Anxiety and Most Types of Cancer
Depression and anxiety have long been suspected of increasing a person’s risk of developing cancer. However, a new study conducted by a multinational team of researchers has refuted this idea, finding no substantial link between these mental health conditions and most types of cancer.
The study, which involved analyzing data from multiple studies across the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Canada, found only a slight correlation between depression, anxiety, and lung and smoking-related cancers. However, this correlation was significantly reduced after accounting for lifestyle factors.
This suggests that unhealthy behaviors associated with anxiety or depression, such as smoking, could be the real drivers of increased cancer risk. The study highlights the importance of addressing these unhealthy behaviors in the context of cancer prevention.
The analysis was conducted by the Psychosocial Factors and Cancer Incidence consortium and included information from 18 prospective study groups with over 300,000 adults. The researchers found no associations between depression or anxiety and overall, breast, prostate, colorectal, and alcohol-related cancers during a follow-up period of up to 26 years.
However, the presence of depression or anxiety was linked to a 6% higher risk of developing lung cancer and smoking-related cancers. But this risk was substantially reduced after adjusting for other cancer-related risk factors such as smoking, alcohol use, and body mass index.
The findings of this study may come as a relief to many patients with cancer who believed their diagnosis was linked to previous anxiety or depression. However, further research is needed to better understand the relationship between depression, anxiety, health behaviors, and lung cancer.
Dr. Lonneke A. van Tuijl, one of the researchers involved in the study, said, “Our results may come as a relief to many patients with cancer who believe their diagnosis is attributed to previous anxiety or depression. However, further research is needed to understand exactly how depression, anxiety, health behaviors, and lung cancer are related.”
The study provides important insights into the association between mental health conditions and cancer risk and emphasizes the need to address unhealthy behaviors that may arise from anxiety or depression in order to prevent cancer.
The research was published in the peer-reviewed journal CANCER and adds to the ongoing discussions surrounding the relationship between mental health and cancer. While previous studies have yielded inconclusive results, this new analysis contributes valuable data to the scientific community.
Overall, the study suggests that while depression and anxiety may not directly increase the risk of most types of cancer, it is important to address unhealthy behaviors that can arise from these mental health conditions in order to reduce cancer risk.
Source: Wiley