Night Work and the Risk of Cancer Among Men
Abstract
Night work might influence cancer risk, possibly via suppression of melatonin release. In a population-based case-control study conducted in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, between 1979 and 1985, job histories, including work hours, were elicited from 3,137 males with incident cancer at one of 11 anatomic sites and from 512 controls. Compared with men who never worked at night, the adjusted odds ratios among men who ever worked at night were 1.76 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.25, 2.47) for lung cancer, 2.03 (95% CI: 1.43, 2.89) for colon cancer, 1.74 (95% CI: 1.22, 2.49) for bladder cancer, 2.77 (95% CI: 1.96, 3.92) for prostate cancer, 2.09 (95% CI: 1.40, 3.14) for rectal cancer, 2.27 (95% CI: 1.24, 4.15) for pancreatic cancer, and 2.31 (95% CI: 1.48, 3.61) for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Equivocal evidence or no evidence was observed for cancers of the stomach (odds ratio (OR) = 1.34, 95% CI: 0.85, 2.10), kidney (OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 0.86, 2.35), and esophagus (OR = 1.51, 95% CI: 0.80, 2.84) and for melanoma (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 0.49, 2.22). There was no evidence of increasing risk with increasing duration of night work, with risks generally being increased across all duration categories. Results suggest that night work may increase cancer risk at several sites among men.
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Night shift work has been found to increase the risk of other cancers including lung, colon, bladder, prostate, rectal, pancreatic, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
“Night shift work has also been found to increase the risk of other cancers, including lung, colon, bladder, prostate, rectal, and pancreatic cancer as well as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma [61,62,63].”
From Shift Work: Disrupted Circadian Rhythms and Sleep—Implications for Health and Well-being (2017) · cites this paper as [62]
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“…workers, slightly to moderately increased risk for breast, prostate, colon, and endometrial epithelial malignancies plus non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is found (Conlon et al. 2007; Kubo et al. 2006, 2011; Parent et al. 2012), although other studies have reported no association (Schwartzbaum et al. 2007).”
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Shift Work: Disrupted Circadian Rhythms and Sleep—Implications for Health and Well-being
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- Authors
- Parent, M.-E., El-Zein, M., Rousseau, M.-C., Pintos, J., & Siemiatycki, J.
- Affiliations
- Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (CA)
- Venue
- American Journal of Epidemiology
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2012-10-03
- Volume
- 176
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 751-759
- ISSN
- 0002-9262 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-6256
- OpenAlex
- W2145191724
- Cited by
- 243
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 28 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 9.07
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- EspaceINRS (National Institute for Scientific Research (Canada)) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Institut national de la recherche scientifique
- Health Canada
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- National Cancer Institute
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Global Cancer Incidence and Screening
- Keywords
- night work, shift work, cancer risk, melatonin suppression, lung cancer, colon cancer, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, rectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, occupational exposure, men
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Circadian Rhythm, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Neoplasms, Occupations, Personnel Staffing and Scheduling, Quebec, Risk Factors, Men's Health
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