Research showing that women working regular night shifts are more exposed to the risk of breast cancer should be taken seriously and such work schedules avoided, according to campaigner Helen Muscat.
“This is not the first time research shows a link between night shifts and breast cancer. This link seems to be getting stronger,” she said.
Ms Muscat chairs the Action for Breast Cancer Foundation, which campaigns for a quality-assured service for diagnosis and treatment of the illness.
“Women should try to avoid working long stretches of night duties if that’s possible.
“Employers and employees should seriously think about this,” she said, adding that more research was needed.
Danish research published by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work provided evidence of a link between night shifts and breast cancer, specifically for women working intense night shifts for longer durations.
To determine the effect of night shift work, researchers collected data on more than 18,500 women who worked for the Danish Army between 1964 and 1999. The risk of breast cancer increased 40 per cent if they worked at night.
The findings built on previous research. In 2005, the UK’s Imperial College found an estimated 54 per cent of occupational cancer registrations in women were attributed to shift work.
The UK’s national Health and Safety Agency has commissioned the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at Oxford University to undertake an extensive study on the relationship between shift work and disease.
“We need to keep an eye on this,” Ms Muscat said, adding that breast cancer was not caused by one factor and was multifaceted with various risks, including exposure to harmful chemicals.
Victor Carachi, president of the General Workers’ Union, and Josef Vella, secretary general of the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin, said they did not know of any women who developed breast cancer from working night shifts.
Their members never raised the issue, but both said more research was needed.
Most women doing nights worked on a shift system that included a day shift, followed by night duty, a day of rest and a day off. These were mainly in the manufacturing, tourism and health industries.
Few women worked nights only and this was usually their choice as it suited their lifestyle, possibly because they had children and wanted to be around during the day, they said.