Night workers do not have a higher risk of breast cancer, says UK study

By Sally Wardle, Correspondent of the Health and Science Press Association

Night shifts do not increase the risk of bad cancer, as suggested by a study of more than 100,000 British women over ten years.

The research, published in the British Journal of Cancer, found that women who work at night are not more likely to develop the disease than those who work at regular hours.

The results will rebadure thousands of workers after decades of debate about the relationship between night shifts and bad cancer, the researchers said.

It was suggested for the first time in the 1970s that exposure to electrical light could increase the risk of developing the disease, potentially disrupting the body's internal clock, by suppressing levels of melatonin, a sleep hormone , and increasing estrogen levels.

In 2007, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, stated that shift work that disrupts the sleep cycle is "probably carcinogenic".

The new study, funded by the charity Breast Cancer Now, includes data from 102,869 British women over the age of 10, of whom 2,059 have developed invasive bad cancer.

The badysis of the researchers revealed no overall connection between night work and the likelihood of developing bad cancer.

"A possible link between electrical light exposure at night and an increased risk of bad cancer was first proposed more than 30 years ago, but research has not yet been completed." Said Dr. Michael Jones, who leads the research at the Cancer Institute. in London (ICR), said.

"In our new study, we found no overall link between women who had done night work in the past 10 years and their risk of bad cancer – regardless of their type of work involving night shift teams. the age at which they started. such work.

"Although night shifts can have other effects on people's health and we still do not know what a person's biological clock is disrupted for very long periods of time," he says. is rebaduring to see more evidence suggesting that night shifts are unrelated. a higher risk of bad cancer. "

The researchers found a link between the average number of hours worked per night, but they claimed it was a "random result", not supported by evidence earlier.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, is expected to review the evidence on night work and cancer in the summer of 2019.

Baroness Delyth Morgan, general manager of bad cancer and bad cancer treatment now, said: "We hope these findings will help rebadure hundreds of thousands of women working at night that it is unlikely that their professional profile increases the risk of bad cancer.

"This issue has been widely debated in recent decades and has naturally raised concerns, and it is encouraging that evidence now suggests that night work has no impact on bad cancer risk.

"We are now awaiting review by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the global evidence to get even more clarity on this issue."

She added, "Although some things can not change, all women can take steps to reduce their risk of bad cancer, such as maintaining a healthy weight, staying physically active and drinking less alcohol.

"Even small changes are a good start."

Peak of Rui Vieira / PA Wire

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