Depressive symptoms and lack of sleep may put women, particularly older women, at a heightened risk of developing breast cancer, according to a study recently published in China CDC Weekly.
Researchers used data from a large population-based study of Chinese women conducted from 2018 to 2020. They analyzed the relationship between self-reported depressive symptoms, sleep duration, and breast cancer risk in 63,000 women.
The study acknowledged that psychological and lifestyle factors have been known to play a role in breast cancer development, but studies on the link between depression, sleep duration, and breast cancer risk have been inconclusive up to this point.
Researchers concluded that depression, short sleep duration, and reduced sleep satisfaction could be risk factors for developing breast cancer, specifically among middle-aged and elderly women, but more research is needed to validate their findings.
