Sleep Care

Increased Breast Cancer Risk Tied to Long Periods of Third Shift Work

Working third shift can be extremely difficult on many different levels. The physical toll on one’s body from not getting enough quality rest, the mental toll of being expected to perform on the job when the body naturally wants to sleep, and not being able to socially engage as often with family and friends can quickly wear an individual down. At the core of these issues is the disruption of the body’s circadian rhythm. The circadian viagra or cialis rhythm is the internal biological clock that runs on a 24 hour cycle and controls an individual’s sleep wake cycle. By working third shift and throwing off the circadian rhythm there mexican pharmacy are believed negative health effects for both men and women in the short term and long term. Recently research has shown that these negative health effects may even include increasing risk for breast cancer in women who have worked third shift for an extended period of time. 40 SomethingThe study, led by Anne Grundy, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Cancer Care Ontario in Toronto, gathered a group of women in both Vancouver, British Columbia and Kingston, Ontario. 1,134 women with breast cancer and 1,179 women without breast cancer made up the study group from the time span of 2005 to 2010. In both groups one third of the women had a history of working third shift and those with third shift experience were separated into three groups based on amount of time working nights (0 to mexican online pharmacy 14 years, 15 to 29 years, and 30 or more years). Information was gathered from what does sildenafil citrate look like all the women involving employment history for any job held for six months or more. It was found by the research team that while there was no association between third shift work and breast cancer risk in the groups of 0-14 years and 15-29 years, however, the women who participated and worked third shift for 30 or more years were twice as likely to develop breast cancer. The knowledge that working third shift for a significant amount of time may be a major risk factor in developing breast cancer is rather alarming. Dr. Grundy said, “This work adds to the body of evidence that is becoming more persuasive in suggesting that long term how to remove side effects of viagra shift work increases the risk of breast cancer”. Several previous studies examining this issue had been restricted to healthcare professionals, such as nurses, because such a large proportion of the workforce working third shift is health care related. This study, in contrast, involved several different occupations; proving that not only healthcare workers are at high risk while working nights over an extended period of time. The overall numbers of those who had developed cancer in the 30 years or more category was equally comparable to those who had worked in other industries. The exact explanation of why there is such an increase at the 30 or more year mark still has yet to be exactly determined, as Dr. Grundy stated, “But we still don’t know why. We would like to know what it is about shift work that’s causing increased risk. If we did, we might be able to design shift schedules that are better for health”. Experiencing circadian rhythm disruption, due to over exposure to light and forcing the body and mind to be awake when the body is used to sleeping could be possible contributors. While more research is necessary, it is most important to be knowledgeable and aware of the risk factors of extended midnight shift work.
