Having a stress-related psychiatric condition may increase the risk for autoimmune disease, a study concludes. Researchers used a Swedish database of 106,464 patients who had a severe stress condition, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or acute stress reaction. They compared them with 1,064,640 people free of such disorders and with 126,652 of their stress-free siblings. Researchers found that compared with those who had not had severe stress, those with any stress-related disorder were 36 percent more likely to have an autoimmune disease, and 29 percent more likely than their unstressed siblings. People with PTSD were 46 percent more likely.
New hope for early pancreatic cancer test
Patients with pancreatic cancer can develop elevated blood sugar levels up to three years before their cancer diagnosis, said a study by Mayo Clinic researchers published the journal Gastroenterology. The model, called an ENDPAC score, identifies a subset of patients with new onset diabetes that have a 30 to 40-fold higher risk of having pancreatic cancer. "We believe that if these findings are validated, patients who have a high blood sugar and a high ENDPAC score should be thoroughly tested for pancreatic cancer," said Suresh Chari, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic.
News services
