What can we do about shift work?

There has been a lot of research published in the past few years around the effect of shift work and our health since the World Health Organisation classified night shift work as a probable carcinogen back in 2007. In 2012 research for the HSE estimated that the additional breast cancer risk associated with night shift working would have translated into about 2,000 extra cases of breast cancer (out of a total of about 43,200 in Britain) in 2004. That would mean around 550 additional deaths and makes it the biggest occupational killer after asbestos. A study in 2013, based on 2,300 women in Vancouver found that women who worked night shifts for 30 years or more were twice as likely to develop breast cancer.

More research was published this week on the link between shift work and cancer. The new one comes from researchers in the Netherlands and Germany and appears to support previous research suggesting a link between night-shift work and breast cancer. Although this research is in mice it is important because it provides the first experimental proof that shift work increases breast cancer development.

However it is not just breast cancer that is more likely to be caused by shift working. Shift work has been shown to lead to heart problems, type2 diabetes and obesity. It is also linked to stomach problems and ulcers, depression, and an increased risk of accidents or injury. We have known about these problems for many years and researchers continue to find links between…