No link between depression and cancer: Dutch researchers

People with depression or anxiety don’t have an increased risk of developing cancer. There is no connection between the complaints, researchers at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) have found. They published their conclusions in the scientific journal Cancer.

The Groningen scientists examined the data of over 300,000 people from the Netherlands, Great Britain, Norway, and Canada. The patients were followed for years to see how their health developed. The researchers found that having depression or an anxiety disorder did not lead to a higher risk of, for example, breast cancer, prostate cancer, or colorectal cancer.

There may be a slightly higher risk with lung cancer, but this effect is dwarfed by the dangers of, for example, smoking, alcohol consumption, or being overweight.

“Our results may come as a relief to many cancer patients who believe their diagnosis is attributed to previous anxiety or depression,” said Lonneke van Tuijl of the UMCG.