Half of Britons mistakenly believe stress causes cancer

Half of Britons mistakenly think that stress can cause cancer, even though there is no evidence to support that belief, new findings show.

In a survey of the public’s knowledge of what does and does not cause cancer, exactly 50% of the representative sample of 2,070 adults said that stress increases cancer risk.

And the proportion of people who think that is increasing, according to the findings of the YouGov survey for the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF). Its equivalent survey last year found that 46% believed that.

There have been reports that stress can lead to cancer. However, the WCRF, an influential charity that investigates the causes of cancer, is adamant that there is no evidence to support this.

But the charity added that “people under stress can sometimes behave in unhealthy ways, such as smoking, overeating or drinking heavily, which do increase their risk of many cancers. If you’re under stress, it’s important to try to find other ways of coping, such as doing physical activity.”


Source : theguardian