Shift work, chronodisruption and cancer?—the IARC 2007 challenge for research and prevention and 10 theses from the Cologne Colloquium 2008

Night work and breast cancer – results from the German GENICA study

“…In conclusion, our results are in line with the IARC classification that long-term night work in women is probably associated with breast cancer and warrants further research (37). A major challenge is the quantitative assessment of night work and qualitative assessment of various shift systems.…”

Medical program for shift workers – impacts on chronic disease and mortality outcomes

“…It may also be that the type of shift system in use at this work site is less prone to cause internal desynchronization between different circadian rhythms, compared to slow or even backwards rotating shift patterns. Such "chronodisruption" has been suggested as the underlying cause for various adverse health effects associated with shift work (32)(33)(34). Because the shift system analyzed in this study is not representative of all industries, our results may not be easily extrapolated to other populations of shift workers and cannot serve to dismiss concerns about the health hazards of shift work in general.…”

Shift work trends and risk of work injury among Canadian workers

“…This can be attributed to the alteration of normal sleep-wake cycles with lightdark cycles, which has been linked to the disruption of circadian rhythms. This change in normal biological processes may lead to an increased risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). Changes and maladaptation to regular sleeping routines can also lead to sleepiness and fatigue, which may also increase the risk of accidents and injuries (6)(7)(8)(9)(10).…”