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Night shifts could be linked to increased breast cancer risk, according to a study published in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine journal. The study looks into the link between women working frequent night shifts more than twice a week and how this affects their breast cancer risk.
Dr Rachel Greig, Senior Policy Officer at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said:
“We know that shift work is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, and this study further supports this view. The exact reasons are still not known and it may be that night shifts themselves are not the only cause, as shift work can increase the likelihood of other lifestyle risk factors, such as lack of exercise. All women should cut back on alcohol, get regular physical activity and maintain a healthy diet to reduce their risk of breast cancer.
“We are running the Breakthrough Generations Study, which follows 110,000 UK women over 40 years and is specifically looking at shift workers to help us find out more about breast cancer risks for these women.”