Night work officially listed as cancer risk

The International Agency for Research on Cancer sees overnight work as part of the explanation to why some people are at greater risk of breast and prostate cancer.

An estimated 20 per cent of the working population in developed countries is potentially at increased risk for contracting breast or prostate cancer. Experts point to nightshift work as a key to understanding the problem and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer arm of the World Health Organisation, has officially decided to list overnight work as a probable carcinogen for the same reason.

While there is still an ongoing debate about overnight work and its possible influence on cancer, several studies, some of which are conducted by Danish cancer researchers, have clearly shown an increased risk for breast cancer in women who do their breadwinning after sunset.

Link to sleep hormone

Why working at night compromises your health may seem a bit strange. Then again, there is a clear link to a hormone called melatonin, which is released in the brain’s pineal gland in response to nightfall. Melatonin is what regulates the body’s internal 24 hour clock, our so-called circadian rhythm, and by exposing yourself to artificial light during night hours, when the body expects you to be sleeping, you upset the balance. As melatonin is also a very powerful antioxidant with a protective effect on cells, suppressing the release of the substance may be what impairs its protective role in the body.

Are pills the solution?

What experts have not addressed at this point is whether taking a melatonin supplement in tablet form can compensate for the loss of the substance that is seen in connection with nightshift work. So far, the link between working during night hours and having an increased cancer risk is what has been acknowledged. Until further research is available, relying on melatonin supplements is not officially endorsed but rather a decision that must be made by each individual.