Women working night shifts may have a
significantly higher risk of breast, skin and stomach cancer.
Breast
cancer is the most commonly identified cancer in women worldwide. Most previous
meta-analyses focused on understanding the relationship between night shift
workers and the risk of breast cancer. The
assumptions, however, are random.
To the form of earlier studies, researchers at Sichuan University in China investigated
whether long-term night work in women was associated with the risk of nearly a
dozen types of cancer.
They performed a meta-analysis using data from 61 articles including 114,628 cases of cancer and 3,909,152 participants from North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.
They performed a meta-analysis using data from 61 articles including 114,628 cases of cancer and 3,909,152 participants from North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.
The
studies were analyzed to determine an association between long-term night work
and the risk of 11 types of cancer.
An additional analysis was conducted, which specifically analyzed long-term night work and the risk of six types of cancer among nurses.
An additional analysis was conducted, which specifically analyzed long-term night work and the risk of six types of cancer among nurses.
When
discovering particular cancers, the scientists found that this population had
an increased risk of skin, breast and gastrointestinal cancer compared to women
who did not complete night shifts in the long term work.
The
researchers found that only an increased risk of breast
cancer was found among night shift workers in North America and Europe.
We were surprised to see the association between night work and the risk of breast cancer only among women in North America and Europe, "said Xuelei Ma, of Sichuan University.
We were surprised to see the association between night work and the risk of breast cancer only among women in North America and Europe, "said Xuelei Ma, of Sichuan University.
"It is possible that women in these places have higher levels of sex hormones, which have been positively associated with cancers related to hormones, such as breast cancer," said Ma.
Only among the nurses, those who worked in the night shift had a higher risk of breast cancer (58 percent), gastrointestinal (35 percent) and lung (28 percent) compared to those who did not work night shifts.
Of all occupations analyzed, nurses had the highest risk of developing breast cancer if they worked the night shift.
"The
nurses who worked the night shift had a medical history and may have been more
likely to be screened," said Ma.
"Another promising
clarification for the increased risk of cancer in this population can be
related to the work requirements of night shift nursing, such as more intensive
shifts," he said.
The researchers
also performed a dose-response meta-analysis between breast cancer studies that
included three or more levels of exposure.
They found that the risk of breast cancer increased
by 3.3% for every five years of night work.
"Our
study indicates that night work serves as a risk factor for common cancers in
women," said Ma.
Long-term night shift workers must have regular physical exams and cancer
screenings, "he said.