Night Shift Work is Classified as a potential Group 2A Carcinogen
Night Shift Work is Classified as a potential Group 2A Carcinogen.
Takeway ?
IMO Awareness more than anything else, increased awareness of the importance of sleep hygiene for our optimal health.
Disruption of circadian rhythms of normal physiology is the most pronounced effect of night shift work.
In 2007, the IARC classified shift work involving circadian disruption as “probably carcinogenic to humans” (group 2A), on the basis of sufficient evidence in experimental animals and limited evidence of breast cancer in humans.
In June 2019, at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, Researcher met to finalise their evaluation of the carcinogenicity of night shift work.
The Working Group classified night shift work in Group 2A, “probably carcinogenic to humans”, based on limited evidence of cancer in humans, sufficient evidence of cancer in experimental animals, and strong mechanistic evidence in experimental animals.
A summary of the evaluations is published in The Lancet Oncology on 4 July 2019.
Worth your consideration if you are a Night Shift Worker
Reference
IARC Monographs Vol 124 group. Carcinogenicity of night shift work: Lancet Oncology; Published 4 July 2019.
