Shift work and cancer

Abstract

Circadian disruption and night-shift work have been associated with a range of acute and chronic health effects including cardiometabolic diseases, obesity, as well as breast and prostate cancer. Circadian disruption may also affect the health of the general population because of widespread mistimed lifestyle practices including mistimed eating and sleep patterns and increasing exposure to light-at-night and particularly blue light spectrum through the use of e-readers, LEDs and smartphones. New epidemiological evidence on the effects of circadian disruption and light-at-night in workers and the general population will be presented, and mechanisms of disease and potential preventive measures discussed.