PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Daily stress can reduce a woman's ability to fight off human papillomavirus and increase her risk for developing cervical cancer, a U.S. study found.
Human papillomavirus, also known as HPV, is spread during sexual intercourse and can cause cervical cancer.
Carolyn Y. Fang of the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia examined potential associations between stress and immune response to HPV among women who had precancerous cervical lesions.
The study participants were asked to complete a questionnaire about their perceived stress in the past month and about major stressful life events that had occurred, such as divorce, death of a close family member or loss of a job.
"We were surprised to discover no significant association between the occurrence of major stressful life events and immune response to HPV16 -- a HPV subtype," Fang said in a statement. "This could be due to the amount of time that has passed since the event occurred and how individuals assess and cope with the event."
However, the study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, found women with higher levels of perceived stress were more likely to have an impaired immune response to HPV16 because their immune system can't fight off the virus.
