JENKINTOWN PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS

Do you work the nightshift? Could the hours you work affect your risk of breast cancer?

If you were to list factors that affect on-the-job cancer risk, working at night might not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, a Canadian study found that women who have worked the nightshift for 30 years or longer have an increased risk of contracting breast cancer, compared to women who have worked the nightshift for fewer years or have not worked the nightshift at all.

Researchers at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario interviewed 1,134 women with breast cancer and 1,179 women without breast cancer about their shiftwork experience. The women were matched by age. About one-third of the participants in each group had nightshift experience.

Women who had worked the nightshift for 15 to 29 years and women had who worked the nightshift for 14 or fewer years were no more likely to contract breast cancer than women who had not worked nights. However, women who had worked the night shift for 30 or more years were twice as likely to have breast cancer as the other participants in the study.

How can the hours you work make such a big difference? Previous studies suggest that melatonin, a hormone that regulates the sleep cycle, may protect against breast cancer. In shift workers, the natural sleep cycle is disrupted, so melatonin production may also be affected. Melatonin affects levels of estrogen and progesterone and may prevent tumors.

However, there is no conclusive evidence that shiftwork affects melatonin production. Sleep disturbances, lack of vitamin D, and lifestyle differences may also explain the increased cancer risk.

Shiftwork has also been linked an increased risks of diabetes and prostate cancer.

Why does this study matter to the Pennsylvania worker? It is important that employers and policy makers understand the link between shiftwork and disease in order to develop healthy workplace policies and prevent occupation-related illness. If you are suffering a Pennsylvania workplace injury or illness, contact a Philadelphia workers’ compensation attorney.