University of Illinois study links neighborhood violence and lung cancer
CHICAGO (CBS) – Researchers at the University of Illinois said they have uncovered a potential link to aggressive lung cancer tumors and neighborhood violence, perhaps shedding new light on the impact stress has on the body.
Michael Smith knows all too well about the highs and lows of living on Chicago's South Side. For more than 20 years, he has mentored youth in the community, leading them on a path to success.
Despite the valiant cause, violence has tainted the way of life for many in the community.
"It's been carried on from one generation to the next," Smith said. "You know, trauma just affects you in so many different ways. It creates that withdrawal."
That type of trauma and stress of living in an environment with high levels of violence and its impact on health, specifically cancerous tissues, was the focus of the new University of Illinois study. Scientists identified an apparent link between aggressive lung cancer tumors in patients and neighborhood violence.
The study found that Black men living in Chicago zip codes, most of them on the South Side where crime is prevalent, had a significantly high level of cortisol, the hormone that regulates the body's stress response.
"We know that these hormones play an important role in the normal development of lung tissue, so that's why it makes sense in a way to look at this link," said Zeynep Madak Erdogan, the lead researcher on the study and a professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois.
Madak Erdogan said the study was designed to address the higher occurrences of lung cancer in Black men than in white men. She found their environment was a driving factor.
"This is just a normal part of our body, but if there's constant stress coming from the environment, these stress hormones are released, and they stay up basically," she said.
Researchers suggested broadening guidelines for lung cancer screenings, which currently focus on a history of smoking. The new analysis fuels what scientists have long suspected was a clear relationship between health and stress.