Happiness may affect breast cancer risk

BEER-SHEVA, Israel, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Happiness and optimism may help guard against breast cancer, while adverse life events may increase breast cancer risk, Israeli researchers said.

Ronit Peled of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel questioned women about their life experiences and evaluated their levels of happiness, optimism, anxiety and depression prior to diagnosis. Researchers used this information to examine the relationship between breast cancer and life events or psychological distress.

A total of 622 women ages 25 to 45 were interviewed: 255 breast cancer patients and 367 healthy women.

The study, published in the British journal BMC Cancer, showed a clear link between outlook and risk of breast cancer, with optimists 25 percent less likely to have developed the disease. Conversely, women who suffered two or more traumatic events had a 62 percent greater risk.

"Young women who have been exposed to a number of negative life events should be considered an 'at-risk' group for breast cancer and should be treated accordingly," Peled said in a statement.