Night Work May Up Breast Cancer Risk
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Night Work May Up Breast Cancer Risk
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who work at night, such as nurses or flight attendants, may be slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than women who work in the daytime, a Danish researcher reports. The finding is from a study of 7,035 women between the ages of 30 and 54 who had been diagnosed with beast cancer.
Dr. Johnni Hansen of the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen, Denmark looked at cancer registry records that also contained information regarding each women's employment history. Women who worked in occupations requiring nighttime work were 1.5 times as likely as daytime workers to be diagnosed with breast cancer, Hansen reports in the January issue of Epidemiology. The risk
seemed to increase the longer a woman worked in such an occupation, according to the report. The reason for the link is unclear. Some studies have shown that nighttime workers are more likely to consume alcohol, a risk factor for breast cancer. However, Hansen points to another theory--that exposure to artificial light suppresses
the hormone melatonin, which is normally produced in the body at night. Some studies have suggested that low levels of melatonin
may either promote breast cancer cell growth or encourage increased production of estrogen, which may increase cancer risk.
The full article can be found at:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/2000..._breast_1.html
Dr. Johnni Hansen of the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen, Denmark looked at cancer registry records that also contained information regarding each women's employment history. Women who worked in occupations requiring nighttime work were 1.5 times as likely as daytime workers to be diagnosed with breast cancer, Hansen reports in the January issue of Epidemiology. The risk
seemed to increase the longer a woman worked in such an occupation, according to the report. The reason for the link is unclear. Some studies have shown that nighttime workers are more likely to consume alcohol, a risk factor for breast cancer. However, Hansen points to another theory--that exposure to artificial light suppresses
the hormone melatonin, which is normally produced in the body at night. Some studies have suggested that low levels of melatonin
may either promote breast cancer cell growth or encourage increased production of estrogen, which may increase cancer risk.
The full article can be found at:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/2000..._breast_1.html
