THURSDAY, Sept. 22 (HealthDay News) — A new study finds that black and Hispanic women with breast cancer suffer more stress than white women, and the researchers connected the extra stress to more aggressive tumors.

But, the study authors cautioned that the research is preliminary and doesn’t provide insight into whether the women’s stress levels already were high before diagnosis, whether the stress levels increased after diagnosis, or whether the increased stress caused the cancer to be more aggressive.

Still, the findings point to one possible — if unconfirmed — explanation why breast cancer is generally worse in black and Hispanic women, said study lead author Garth H. Rauscher.

“One possible reason for that, among others, could be differences in the role of stress in influencing the development of breast cancer,” said Rauscher, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Public Health.

via Study Suggests Link Between Stress and Aggressive Breast Cancer – US News and World Report.

In people with type 2 diabetes, the body doesn’t respond well to insulin — the hormone that removes sugar from your blood and helps get it into your cells where it can be used or stored for energy. Managing type 2 diabetes with exercise, diet, and sometimes medication usually keeps blood sugar under control, but stress can cause blood sugar levels to rise.Stress management with diabetesStress is your body’s normal response to danger. Getting a quick boost of energy from sugar helps you get out of danger, allowing you to “fight or take flight” — the human body’s natural response to stress. Everyone’s blood sugar goes up when they’re under stress, but if you have type 2 diabetes, your body has a harder time getting your blood sugar levels to go back down.”Stress isn’t all bad,” says Dinamarie C. Garcia-Banigan, MD, MPH, an endocrinologist and diabetes specialist at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass. “A little stress can help you use energy and improve concentration. But too much stress and type 2 diabetes can be a bad combination,” she says. “That’s why stress management is an important part of managing type 2 diabetes.”

via How Stress Affects Type 2 Diabetes – Type 2 Diabetes – Everyday Health.

For New York City resident Esperanza Muñoz, the attack on the World Trade Centers is not over 10 years later — not by a long shot. At odd moments, the stench of death still rises to her nose, and the 55-year-old woman slides into a haze of nausea and tears. She suffers headaches and is awakened several times a week by nightmares of headless bodies and shoes with bits of feet left inside. She dreads the sound of sirens or a passing plane.

Muñoz lives in the New York City borough of Queens, and can’t — or won’t — go into Manhattan, even to attend her support group for Latinas still scarred by the events of Sept. 11, 2001. She went to a meeting a few blocks from the site of the former World Trade Center once, six or seven years ago, but she became so panicked she had to leave.

Muñoz has a classic case of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, even though she is not a classic victim of the disorder. She has not survived a violent crime, warfare or even a clear sense that her life was threatened. She watched the fiery collapse of the World Trade Center towers from the roof of her apartment building in Queens, horrified but safe.

via 9/11 attacks lead to more study of post-traumatic stress disorder – latimes.com.

Researchers in the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI) at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine have uncovered a mechanism by which stress increases food drive in rats. This new discovery, published online this week in the journal Neuron, could provide important insight into why stress is thought to be one of the underlying contributors to obesity.

Normally, the brain produces neurotransmitters (chemicals responsible for how cells communicate in the brain) called endocannabinoids that send signals to control appetite. In this study, the researchers found that when food is not present, a stress response occurs that temporarily causes a functional re-wiring in the brain. This re-wiring may impair the endocannabinoids’ ability to regulate food intake and could contribute to enhanced food drive.

via Scientists Highlight Link Between Stress and Appetite – US News and World Report.

The apparent suicide of a husband on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” again showed the dark side of reality TV and the stress that unrelenting media coverage can place on people, experts said on Tuesday.

Russell Armstrong, the estranged husband of one of the show’s stars Taylor Armstrong, was found hanged in his home late Monday in what Los Angeles coroners and police characterized as an apparent suicide.

The 47-year-old venture capitalist’s death came amid personal turmoil that was expected to be a key storyline in the second season of “Real Housewives” that premiers on September 5.

The show was taped this past summer, and in July, Taylor Armstrong filed for divorce. Her husband also was hit with a USD 1.5 million breach of contract lawsuit, leaving him struggling with debts, his attorney said.

via ‘Real Housewives’ death exposes stress of reality TV – Reuters -.

Cyberstalking or online harassment is more stressful and traumatic than being stalked or harassed in person, according to a presentation at the American Psychological Association’s Annual Convention.

“Increasingly, stalkers use modern technology to monitor and torment their victims, and one in four victims report some form of cyberstalking, such as threatening emails or instant messaging,” said Elizabeth Carll, Ph.D.

Victims may experience high levels of ongoing stress, anxiety, fear, nightmares, shock and disbelief, helplessness, hypervigilance, changes in eating, and sleeping difficulties, Carll said.

“It is my observation that the symptoms related to cyberstalking and e-harassment may be more intense than in-person harassment, as the impact is more devastating due to the 24/7 nature of online communication, inability to escape to a safe place, and global access of the information,” Carll said.

via Virtual Harassment Worse Than Face-to-Face | Psych Central News.

Going back to school doesn’t have to be stressful. Three Chicagoland educators offer their advice on how to recalibrate your kid for the classroom.

1. Keep playing.

Cathy Kurtz, co-director at The Barbereux School in Evanston that admits 2- to 6-year-olds, said games and puzzles puts a child’s thinking cap back on. She recommended leaving a choice of educational toys accessible to kids at home.

“Rotate them, like we do in the classroom, and pick up what they’re good at,” she said.

Outdoor playtime can be paired with a brain workout for kids, too. Take a walk and talk about trees and birds. Having conversations can build vocabulary and background knowledge that kids can bring to their peers and the classroom, said Sally Bullard, head of Lower School at Lake Forest Country Day School, which oversees preschoolers to fourth-graders.

via Ease back to school stress with these six tips -.

The average adult cites a bad or stressful day as an excuse to consume up to four drinks on a typical evening at home, according to new research by alcohol education charity Drinkaware.

People often exceed daily drinking guidelines without realizing it

The statistics show that people are much more inclined to drink in response to a negative experience, such as a stressful day (65%) or a bad day at work (53%), than as a result of having a great day (15%) or good day at work (17%).

While stress is cited by both sexes as the primary reason to have a drink at the end of the day, the data highlights that more women (73%) than men (57%) list this as their top excuse.

Nearly three quarters (72%) of women say they will pour themselves a glass of wine to relax, while 60% of them report that they will have two or more large glasses of wine on a typical night — more than double the recommended daily unit guidelines for women.

Two thirds of men (64%) say they drink at least two pints of beer (4 units) on an average evening at home.

via Adults cite stress as excuse to drink – Morning Advertiser.

FRIDAY, July 15 — Although many people think that having a cocktail will help them relax, the relationship between stress and alcohol is a two-way street, researchers say.

Alcohol can change the way the body manages stress, the authors of a new study pointed out. Meanwhile, stress can also reduce the intoxicating effects of alcohol, causing individuals to drink more to produce the same effect. As a result, turning to alcohol to alleviate anxiety or tension may actually make some people feel worse and prolong their stress, the findings indicate.

via Drinking Alcohol May Prolong, Not Relieve, Stress – US News and World Report.

A certain amount of stress can make us more productive, but too much stress can be debilitating. Losing sleep is directly linked to poor focus and memory, so take action, says Harvard Business Review.

The Management Tip of the Day offers quick, practical management tips and ideas from Harvard Business Review and HBR.org (www.hbr.org). Any opinions expressed are not endorsed by Reuters.

“Don’t be fooled: staying up an hour later doesn’t mean you gain an hour in productivity. In fact, losing sleep is directly linked to poor focus and memory.

Sleep is vital and here are three ways to get more of it:

via Management Tip of the Day: Sleep more to reduce stress | Reuters.