Fear of stress may be just as damaging as suffering from stress itself, researchers warn today.
A major UK study has found a strong link between risk of heart attack and people believing they are suffering from stress that is impacting their health.
The findings come from a long-running study of the health of more than 7,000 civil servants.
Researchers say this may show that the impact of an individual’s response to stress on their health – or may mean that people are aware when stress is damaging.
The findings were published in the European Heart Journal.
About 8% of the civil servants said stress had affected their health a lot and only this group had an increased risk of heart disease.
Researcher Dr Hermann Nabi, of the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale, Villejuif, France, said: "One of the important messages from our findings is that people’s perceptions about the impact of stress on their health are likely to be correct.
"Our findings show that responses to stress or abilities to cope with stress differ greatly between individuals, depending on the resources available to them, such as social support, social activities and previous experiences of stress."
Thembi Nkala, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "These findings raise the possibility that the mere perception of stress can impact on heart health – but they also leave more questions than answers.
“We’ll need more research to unpick this complicated relationship further but in the meantime it’s vital everyone finds ways to unwind and decrease their daily stress levels.
“Think about which areas of your life are most stressful and find ways to better cope with them or, if possible, avoid them completely. Stress can make you smoke, eat and drink alcohol excessively so a healthy lifestyle, relaxation techniques and physical activity can be helpful."
Increased risk of coronary heart disease among individuals reporting adverse impact of stress on their health: The Whitehall II prospective cohort study. European Heart Journal 27 June 2013; doi:10.1093/eurheartj/eht216
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