Freight Dawgin' now a probable carcinogen

[Minnesota_Flyer]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071129/ap_on_he_me/night_shift_cancer :

Graveyard shift soon to be listed as 'probable' cause of cancer
Like UV rays and diesel exhaust fumes, working the graveyard shift will soon be listed as a "probable'' cause of cancer.

By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer

Last update: November 29, 2007 – 1:07 PM

LONDON - Like UV rays and diesel exhaust fumes, working the graveyard shift will soon be listed as a "probable'' cause of cancer.
It is a surprising step validating a concept once considered wacky. And it is based on research that finds higher rates of breast and prostate cancer among women and men whose work day starts after dark.

Next month, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer arm of the World Health Organization, will add overnight shift work as a probable carcinogen. The American Cancer Society says it will likely follow. Up to now, the U.S. organization has considered the work-cancer link to be "uncertain, controversial or unproven.''

The higher cancer rates don't prove working overnight can cause cancer. There may be other factors common among graveyard shift workers that raise their risk for cancer.

However, scientists suspect that overnight work is dangerous because it disrupts the circadian rhythm, the body's biological clock. The hormone melatonin, which can suppress tumor development, is normally produced at night.

 

[Malko]

Hmmmm, I'll have to bring the article to work tonight (0000) and leave it for my boss in the a.m.

 

[E6BAV8R]

Why don't they go ahead and add 'Living Life' to the list as well?

 

[Duck_Twacy]

Why don't they go ahead and add 'Living Life' to the list as well?

Seriously...

"A new study released today reveals that living ends in death...film at 11..."

 

[mikecweb]

I'll go with the nukes I'm carrying in the back. Maybe the esbestos insulation in the bleed air ducting. I know, how about the Skoal? Pretty sure those are going to trump the sun being down.

 

[wheelsup]

That's interesting about it possibly contributing to causing cancer. However, I remember seeing a study a long, long, time ago talking about how working the 3rd shift essentially takes 7 years off of your life.

 

[PGT]

I just can't see it being a problem once you adjust to it. I think it's the people that try to do that and lead a 'normal' day life that are the ones at risk.

 

[Kevin.Held]

Next thing you know they're gonna say cigarettes cause cancer

 

[C150J]

I just can't see it being a problem once you adjust to it. I think it's the people that try to do that and lead a 'normal' day life that are the ones at risk.

Humans are not nocturnal and cannot sleep efficiently during daylight hours. Unfortunately, graveyards WILL shorten your life. There is a very limited "adjustment" to sleeping during the day. That being said, there are MANY confounding factors when it comes to such things, your example of someone trying to "flip" his/her schedule on the days off being a good one.

 

[averyrm]

I hate when people do reports on studies like this. Could it be that here's a higher proportion of people of working in a factory or other job with less than ideal conditions when you're working at night? There's always more than one answer.

PS. I sleep very efficiently during daylight hours

 

[C150J]

I hate when people do reports on studies like this. Could it be that here's a higher proportion of people of working in a factory or other job with less than ideal conditions when you're working at night? There's always more than one answer.

PS. I sleep very efficiently during daylight hours

Sleep studies on midnight shift workers have been replicated across lifestyles, socio-economic backgrounds, working environments, and even cross-culturally. All showed causal correlations with statistical significance. I happen to have worked with the Dr. that even flew with FedEx crews in the 90s and worked directly with pilots. There is no getting around the fact that midnight shifts hurt the body. Increased cytokines in the blood, leptin levels in the stomach, and even minimal exposure to daylight while trying to sleep hurt the body.

THAT BEING SAID, there are many factors at play. If you black out your windows in your bedroom and don't flip your schedule on your days off, you will decrease the negative effects of being a nocturnal worker. Also, there are many other carcinogenic/bad things people do who work 9-5s. I guarantee that some of those practices are far worse than working at night.