Does working night shifts increase the risk of breast cancer in females between the ages of 40-60?

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Introduction

In the last two decades or so, there has been an increased agreement that working night shifts increases the risk for development of internal cancers for those who engage in night shifts. In 2007, shift work was classified as one possible carcinogen; particularly that involving disruption to circadian rhythm (WHO 2010).

Background & Justification:

Past research has suggested that long-term night work exposes workers to high risk of breast cancer. Nevertheless, more studies need to be done that employ more broader–spectrum methods of exposure assessment to depict the diversity of change patterns are needed. Additionally, not many earlier studies have taken into account the role of hormone receptor subtype (Grundy et al 2013).

Purpose, Aim and Objectives:The main aim of the research study is to take a critical literature review which intends to explore whether working night shifts exposes female workers to increased risk of breast cancer and this focuses on female workers aged between 40 and 60 years. By using critical review of literature, the study assesses past studies to achieve the main objective and this helps in coming up with ways to reduce prevalence of breast cancer and breast cancer incidences among working females of ages 40 to 60 years of age. In order to accomplish the objectives of the undertaking, several of questions shall have to be answered. The questions that follow are going to guide the study:

What measures can help in dealing with incidences of breast cancer among night shift female workers aged 40 to 60 years?

How can the severity of cancer-related complications be most favorably managed among this group of night shift workers?

Are there factors that should help in screening for breast cancer among women who go for night shifts to make cancer management easier for patients in the middle to late aged patients?

Are there any demographic predictors of approaches to be taken in management of breast cancer for middle aged and late aged women who work in night shifts?

With these questions geared up for the study, the objective of the study shall be to investigate measures that have been identified by various researchers and research studies that can help in proper and optimal management of cancer among middle aged to late aged women who work on night shift basis. This should be done with an aim of exploring ways of lessening the incidence and severity of cancer-related complications in that group of the population. This shall also take account of exploring the best agreed moment for cancer screening based on the studies on cause-and-effect factors identified from the research and also investigating if demographic attributes relevant to women of the said age act as determinants in causing cancer among these women and also if the demographic attributes can provide direction on the approaches to be taken in managing cancer and related complications in the identified sub-group of the population.

Rationale for Research Study

The main question is “Does working night shifts increase the risk of breast cancer in females between the ages of 40-60?” This question is relevant for the current research because while many studies have recently been interested in investigating the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and occurrence of cancer among people of different gender. There is also research literature indicating that studies have been carried out investigating the relationship between disruption of melatonin production and occurrence and recurrence of cancer. However, these studies have not provided a specific focus on specific ages to determine the differences in prevalence of cancer. This provides a strong philosophical rationale for the current study as it endeavors to achieve two objectives with respect to the above gaps in the previous studies. First, it focuses on female workers who attend night shifts and secondly, it draws the line of focus to the age range of 40 to 60.

Literature Review

This literature review takes a critical look at related studies by analyzing past literature and recent body of literature that relates to the present topic of study. To achieve this and ensure relevance to the current study, the research uses peer-reviewed journals to gather information that relates to internal cancers in females. Where relevant information is found in studies that focused on cancer in men, these are also adequately used and referenced. A keen interest and focus is put using peer-reviewed databases and research repositories such as EBSCO, British Journal of Nursing repository, Medline and Cinnah database among others. The search criterion is to look for journals touching on internal cancer in female humans. This criterion will allow the present research to pinpoint the evident holes and gaps in the existing body of literature and research. The criterion will also ensure that the required limits are met as proposed by O’Toole (1998), that search criteria meet requirements of PICO (population, intervention, counter-invention and outcome) hence these have to be used accordingly.

The study by Grudy et al (2013) conducted an exposure assessment for individual considering the impact of tumour hormone receptor status. The study established that there is an association for the impact of tumour hormone receptor status for individuals aged 30 years and above where the individuals were exposed to prolonged night shift periods. It did not find association for ages below 30. This study therefore provides a good basis to start assessing exposure to breast cancer in terms of age with respect to night shift regime.

For instance, in a research study conducted in 1996 by Tynes et al (1996) investigating the prevalence of breast cancer among Norwegian female radio and telegraph operators established that working night shifts for these Norwegian telegraph operators and radio workers who go for night shifts had higher risks of breast cancer. While the research by Tynes et al (1996) mainly focused on females working in the radio and telegraph areas, other studies have also delved into uncovering the occurrence of internal cancers among male night shifters. For instance, a study was recently carried out investigating the prevalence of internal cancers among men who worked night shifts in Canada (Parent et al 2012). It is with no doubt that there are several risks for internal cancer among males and females and these risks have been known to differ between male and females (Schwartz 2014). This means that the topic of cancer and its risk in people of diverse aspect is a very broad topic that would be beyond this study. It is however acknowledged that prevalence of cancer in our modern world is an area that needs further exploration to fully understand the factors that relate to cancer in terms of causation.

Summary and Conclusion

Working night shifts has long been a focus of research in respect to its relationship with causation of cancer. Classification of circadian rhythm disruption as a possible carcinogen necessitates conducting of extensive research in the area since this classification was only done recently in 2007. While a number of research studies have been conducted in the recent focusing on the relationship between night shift work and cancer, few if any, have specifically focused on females aged between 40 and 60. This study finds a philosophical rationale by filling this gap. By undertaking it, the research can help in coming up with age-specific measures dealing with incidences of breast cancer among night shift female workers aged 40 to 60 years; coming up with most favorable mechanisms that can manage cancer among night shift workers and establish if there are any demographic predictors of approaches to be taken in management of breast cancer for middle aged and late aged women who work in night shifts.

Reference list:

Grant WB. (2013) Re: “Night work and the risk of cancer among men”; author reply. Am J Epidemiol. 16 Apr 2013 epub.

Grundy A, Richardson H, Burstyn I, et al. (2013) Occup Environ Med Published Online First: [ please include Day Month Year] doi:10.1136/oemed- 2013-101482

Sanchez-Barcelo EJ, Mediavilla MD, Alonso-Gonzalez C, Rueda N. (2012) Breast cancer therapy based on melatonin. Recent Pat Endocr Metab Immune Drug Discov. 2012 May;6(2):108-16

Schernhammer ES, Razavi P, Li TY, Qureshi AA, Han J. (2011) Rotating night shifts and risk of skin cancer in the nurses’ health study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2011;103(7):602–606.

Schwartz G. G. (2013) Vitamin d, sunlight, and the epidemiology of prostate cancer. Anticancer Agents Med Chem. 2013 Jan 1;13(1):45-57.

Tynes T, Hannevik M, Andersen A, Vistnes AI, Haldorsen T. (1996) Incidence of breast cancer in Norwegian female radio and telegraph operators. Cancer Causes Control. 1996 Mar;7(2):197-204.

WHO. (2010) IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans:Painting, Firefighting, and Shiftwork. Vol 98. 2010. http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol98/index.php