Working Night Shift Not Linked To Breast Cancer Risk: New Study

First Posted: Oct 07, 2016 03:36 AM EDT
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Good news for night shift workers: Researchers have found that their work schedule has little to no effect on the risk of breast cancer development. This is after the long years of thinking that shift work had a link to the illness due to the claim of a World Health Organization (WHO) committee in 2007.

According to BBC, the WHO committee based the aforementioned claim on studies of people and animals. The studies suggested that shift work probably had a connection to developing breast cancer. However, the new research led by UK cancer experts analyzed the data focusing on 1.4 million women, and found that the illness has no association with working night shift. Cancer Research UK (CRUK) hopes to reassure women with these findings.

The shift work's disturbance to the body clock was the reason why the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) made such ruling in 2007. Medical News Today reported that irregular working schedules, rotating shifts, and nights shifts can particularly disrupt the circadian rhythm of the body. It is basically the mental, physical, and behavioral changes occurring over a 24-hour cycle and responds to dark and light in the environment. A disrupted circadian rhythm has an association with diabetes, obesity, depression, and bipolar disorder. From there, the IARC made a conclusion that night shift work may be carcinogenic to humans.

Meanwhile, it is important to take note that during that time, there was limited evidence about the risk for breast cancer in humans. A combination of lab and animal studies was the basis for classification.

The new research focused on data from 10 different studies in the UK, USA, Sweden, China, and the Netherlands. Researchers have found that those who have worked overnight even for decades had no increased breast cancer risk. This was also in comparison with women who never worked night shift. The Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the research.

According to Cancer.org, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among American women. It is likewise the second leading cause of cancer death in women next to lung cancer.

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