Cities, comforts and strains go together, but here comes a warning from researchers -- stress could double the risk of breast cancer in women.

Researchers in Britain have carried out a study and found that women living in urban areas are significantly more susceptible to the disease than those living in countryside because of the stresses and strains of city life, London's [Images] The Daily Mail reported.

'Women living in cities need to pay more attention to having regular breast screening. Women who live in urban areas are known to have lower attendance for breast-screening programmes than women in outlying areas,' lead researcher Dr Nicholas Perry said.

The researchers came to the conclusion after analysing the mammograms of 972 women taking part in a breast-screening programme and comparing the physical make-up of their breasts with their addresses. They found that women living in London had the densest breasts, particularly around the time of menopause.

The breasts of those aged 45 to 54 were twice as dense if they lived in London. Breast density decreased in line with distance from the urban centre, becoming progressively less pronounced in suburban and rural areas, according to their findings.

'We do not yet know why this is, but it may simply be related to weight. The Health Survey for England [Images] found that women living in London were the thinnest in the country and breast density is known to be inversely related to body weight,' one of the researchers, Stephen Duffy, said.