Night-shift Work and Breast Cancer Risk Factors An Observational Study to Understand Genetic and Lifestyle Effects

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are investigating how night work affects health, focusing on its link to breast cancer risk in women. Night work disrupts natural body rhythms controlled by the biological clock in the brain, particularly through exposure to light during nighttime hours. This disruption is linked to short-term issues like insomnia and difficulty concentrating, and long-term risks including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified night work as a probable human carcinogen, highlighting the need to better understand how changes in circadian rhythms may promote cancer development, especially breast cancer. The study involves female health workers aged 20 to 70 years who have worked at least six months between 2000 and 2021. Participants will complete questionnaires to identify known and unknown breast cancer risk factors. Those who consent will also provide blood samples for biomarker analysis. The study particularly focuses on women exposed to night shifts, defined as working at least six night shifts per month in recent months. This approach aims to explore the genetic mechanisms and other risk factors linked to breast cancer in night-shift workers. Participants will be contacted by phone or email and invited to complete the questionnaire at their company's occupational health clinic. Some participants will be asked to give blood samples for further testing. Researchers will estimate the relationship between night work exposure and breast cancer incidence over about one year of study completion. Safety and health monitoring will continue throughout this period to collect comprehensive data on the participants' health and risk factors.

Night-shift Work and Breast Cancer