Abstract
Objective
The aim was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to study the association between night work and the development of prostate cancer.
Methods
A systematic literature search was conducted in CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, and Web of Science. Studies were included based on a PECOS; the population included men in/above the working age, exposure defined as night work, outcome defined as prostate cancer, and study design restricted to cohort studies. The exclusion of articles, risk-of-bias assessment, and data extraction were performed by two reviewers. A meta-analysis was conducted using a random-effects model, including a sensitivity analysis stratified based on the risk-of-bias assessment. We evaluated publication bias using a funnel plot and Egger´s test, and the level of evidence was assessed using GRADE.
Results
A total of 528 articles were identified, and eight cohort studies were included. Three studies had a moderate risk of bias, while five studies had a high risk of bias. The meta-analysis showed a pooled hazard ratio (HR) of 1.0 (95% CI 0.6–1.7). In the sensitivity analysis, moderate vs. high risk-of-bias studies showed a pooled HR of 1.2 (95% CI 0.3–4.1) and 0.9 (95% CI 0.6–1.3), respectively. Based on GRADE, the level of evidence was rated low.
Conclusion
We found no association between night work and the development of prostate cancer. The evidence was assessed as limited and inconsistent. Future studies encompassing consistent definitions of night work, including objective exposure data, are highly warranted.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and materials
The data included in this review are available upon reasonable requests.
Change history
05 February 2024
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-024-02051-5
References
Akerstedt T, Narusyte J, Svedberg P, Kecklund G, Alexanderson K (2017) Night work and prostate cancer in men: a Swedish prospective cohort study. BMJ Open 7(6):e015751. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-015751
Arafa A, Eshak ES, Iso H, Muraki I, Tamakoshi A (2021) Night work, rotating shift work, and the risk of cancer in Japanese men and women: the JACC study. J Epidemiol 31(12):585–592. https://doi.org/10.2188/jea.JE20200208
Bai Y, Li X, Wang K, Chen S, Wang S, Chen Z, Wu X, Fu W, Wei S, Yuan J, Yao P, Miao X, Zhang X, He M, Yang H, Wu T, Guo H (2016) Association of shift-work, daytime napping, and nighttime sleep with cancer incidence and cancer-caused mortality in Dongfeng-tongji cohort study. Ann Med 48(8):641–651. https://doi.org/10.1080/07853890.2016.1217037
Behrens T, Rabstein S, Wichert K, Erbel R, Eisele L, Arendt M, Dragano N, Bruning T, Jockel KH (2017) Shift work and the incidence of prostate cancer: a 10-year follow-up of a German population-based cohort study. Scand J Work Environ Health 43(6):560–568. https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3666
Blask DE (2009) Melatonin, sleep disturbance and cancer risk. Sleep Med Rev 13(4):257–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2008.07.007
Bolm-Audorff U, Hegewald J, Pretzsch A, Freiberg A, Nienhaus A, Seidler A (2020) Occupational noise and hypertension risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176281
Bostwick DG, Burke HB, Djakiew D, Euling S, Ho SM, Landolph J, Morrison H, Sonawane B, Shifflett T, Waters DJ, Timms B (2004) Human prostate cancer risk factors. Cancer 101(10 Suppl):2371–2490. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.20408
Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Siegel RL, Torre LA, Jemal A (2018) Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin 68(6):394–424. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21492
Brum MCB, Dantas Filho FF, Schnorr CC, Bertoletti OA, Bottega GB, da Costa Rodrigues T (2020) Night shift work, short sleep and obesity. Diabetol Metab Syndr 12:13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13098-020-0524-9
Dagnelie PC, Schuurman AG, Goldbohm RA, Van den Brandt PA (2004) Diet, anthropometric measures and prostate cancer risk: a review of prospective cohort and intervention studies. BJU Int 93(8):1139–1150. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-410X.2004.04795.x
Dickerman BA, Markt SC, Koskenvuo M, Hublin C, Pukkala E, Mucci LA, Kaprio J (2016) Sleep disruption, chronotype, shift work, and prostate cancer risk and mortality: a 30-year prospective cohort study of Finnish twins. Cancer Causes Control 27(11):1361–1370. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-016-0815-5
Du HB, Bin KY, Liu WH, Yang FS (2017) Shift work, night work, and the risk of prostate cancer: a meta-analysis based on 9 cohort studies. Medicine (baltimore) 96(46):e8537. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000008537
Dun A, Zhao X, Jin X, Wei T, Gao X, Wang Y, Hou H (2020) Association between night-shift work and cancer risk: updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Oncol 10:1006. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2020.01006
Gapstur SM, Diver WR, Stevens VL, Carter BD, Teras LR, Jacobs EJ (2014) Work schedule, sleep duration, insomnia, and risk of fatal prostate cancer. Am J Prev Med 46(3 Suppl 1):S26-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2013.10.033
Haus EL, Smolensky MH (2013) Shift work and cancer risk: potential mechanistic roles of circadian disruption, light at night, and sleep deprivation. Sleep Med Rev 17(4):273–284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2012.08.003
Ijaz S, Verbeek J, Seidler A, Lindbohm ML, Ojajarvi A, Orsini N, Costa G, Neuvonen K (2013) Night-shift work and breast cancer–a systematic review and meta-analysis. Scand J Work Environ Health 39(5):431–447. https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3371
ILO (1990) International labour organisation. R178 - Night Work Recommendation No. 178. Retrieved 13.07.2023 from: https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_ILO_CODE:R178
Jahn A, Andersen JH, Christiansen DH, Seidler A, Dalboge A (2023) Occupational mechanical exposures as risk factor for chronic low-back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Scand J Work Environ Health 49(7):453–465. https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.4114
Kervezee L, Cuesta M, Cermakian N, Boivin DB (2018) Simulated night shift work induces circadian misalignment of the human peripheral blood mononuclear cell transcriptome. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 115(21):5540–5545. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1720719115
Kubo T, Ozasa K, Mikami K, Wakai K, Fujino Y, Watanabe Y, Miki T, Nakao M, Hayashi K, Suzuki K, Mori M, Washio M, Sakauchi F, Ito Y, Yoshimura T, Tamakoshi A (2006) Prospective cohort study of the risk of prostate cancer among rotating-shift workers: findings from the Japan collaborative cohort study. Am J Epidemiol 164(6):549–555. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwj232
Kuijer P, Verbeek JH, Seidler A, Ellegast R, Hulshof CTJ, Frings-Dresen MHW, Van der Molen HF (2018) Work-relatedness of lumbosacral radiculopathy syndrome: review and dose-response meta-analysis. Neurology 91(12):558–564. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000544322.26939.09
Lamia KA (2017) Ticking time bombs: connections between circadian clocks and cancer. F1000d Res 6:1910. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.11770.1
Lee Y (2021) Roles of circadian clocks in cancer pathogenesis and treatment. Exp Mol Med 53(10):1529–1538. https://doi.org/10.1038/s12276-021-00681-0
Liu W, Zhou Z, Dong D, Sun L, Zhang G (2018) Sex differences in the association between night shift work and the risk of cancers: a meta-analysis of 57 articles. Dis Markers 2018:7925219. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/7925219
Loomis D, Guha N, Hall AL, Straif K (2018) Identifying occupational carcinogens: an update from the IARC Monographs. Occup Environ Med 75(8):593–603. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2017-104944
Mancio J, Leal C, Ferreira M, Norton P, Lunet N (2018) Does the association of prostate cancer with night-shift work differ according to rotating vs fixed schedule? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 21(3):337–344. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41391-018-0040-2
Mancuso N, Gayther S, Gusev A, Zheng W, Penney KL, Kote-Jarai Z, Eeles R, Freedman M, Haiman C, Pasaniuc B, Consortium P (2018) Large-scale transcriptome-wide association study identifies new prostate cancer risk regions. Nat Commun 9(1):4079. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06302-1
Markozannes G, Tzoulaki I, Karli D, Evangelou E, Ntzani E, Gunter MJ, Norat T, Ioannidis JP, Tsilidis KK (2016) Diet, body size, physical activity and risk of prostate cancer: an umbrella review of the evidence. Eur J Cancer 69:61–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2016.09.026
McNeil J, Heer E, Willemsen RF, Friedenreich CM, Brenner DR (2020) The effects of shift work and sleep duration on cancer incidence in Alberta;s Tomorrow Project cohort. Cancer Epidemiol 67:101729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.canep.2020.101729
NORDCAN (2023). Association of the Nordic Cancer Registries. https://gco.iarc.fr/media/nordcan/factsheets/92/dk/countries/208/prostata-240-danmark-208.pdf
Papantoniou K, Castano-Vinyals G, Espinosa A, Aragones N, Perez-Gomez B, Ardanaz E, Altzibar JM, Sanchez VM, Gomez-Acebo I, Llorca J, Munoz D, Tardon A, Peiro R, Marcos-Gragera R, Pollan M, Kogevinas M (2016) Breast cancer risk and night shift work in a case-control study in a Spanish population. Eur J Epidemiol 31(9):867–878. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-015-0073-y
Papantoniou K, Castano-Vinyals G, Espinosa A, Turner MC, Alonso-Aguado MH, Martin V, Aragones N, Perez-Gomez B, Pozo BM, Gomez-Acebo I, Ardanaz E, Altzibar JM, Peiro R, Tardon A, Lorca JA, Chirlaque MD, Garcia-Palomo A, Jimenez-Moleon JJ, Dierssen T, Kogevinas M (2017) Shift work and colorectal cancer risk in the MCC-Spain case-control study. Scand J Work Environ Health 43(3):250–259. https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3626
Pariollaud M, Lamia KA (2020) Cancer in the fourth dimension: what is the impact of circadian disruption? Cancer Discov 10(10):1455–1464. https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-0413
Rao D, Yu H, Bai Y, Zheng X, Xie L (2015) Does night-shift work increase the risk of prostate cancer? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Onco Targets Ther 8:2817–2826. https://doi.org/10.2147/OTT.S89769
Rawla P (2019) Epidemiology of prostate cancer. World J Oncol 10(2):63–89. https://doi.org/10.14740/wjon1191
Rivera-Izquierdo M, Martinez-Ruiz V, Castillo-Ruiz EM, Manzaneda-Navio M, Perez-Gomez B, Jimenez-Moleon JJ (2020) Shift work and prostate cancer: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17041345
Salamanca-Fernández E, Rodriguez-Barranco M, Guevara M, Ardanaz E, de Labry O, Lima A, Sanchez MJ (2018) Night-shift work and breast and prostate cancer risk: updating the evidence from epidemiological studies. An Sist Sanit Navar 41(2):211–226. https://doi.org/10.23938/ASSN.0307
Schernhammer ES, Laden F, Speizer FE, Willett WC, Hunter DJ, Kawachi I, Colditz GA (2001) Rotating night shifts and risk of breast cancer in women participating in the nurses’ health study. J Natl Cancer Inst 93(20):1563–1568. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/93.20.1563
Shamliyan TA, Kane RL, Ansari MT, Raman G, Berkman ND, Grant M, Janes G, Maglione M, Moher D, Nasser M, Robinson KA, Segal JB, Tsouros S (2011) Development quality criteria to evaluate nontherapeutic studies of incidence, prevalence, or risk factors of chronic diseases: pilot study of new checklists. J Clin Epidemiol 64(6):637–657. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2010.08.006
Starke KR, Kofahl M, Freiberg A, Schubert M, Gross ML, Schmauder S, Hegewald J, Kampf D, Stranzinger J, Nienhaus A, Seidler A (2020) The risk of cytomegalovirus infection in daycare workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 93(1):11–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-019-01464-x
Wilson KM, Giovannucci EL, Mucci LA (2012) Lifestyle and dietary factors in the prevention of lethal prostate cancer. Asian J Androl 14(3):365–374. https://doi.org/10.1038/aja.2011.142
Woodruff TJ, Sutton P (2014) The Navigation Guide systematic review methodology: a rigorous and transparent method for translating environmental health science into better health outcomes. Environ Health Perspect 122(10):1007–1014. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1307175
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank librarian Jane Kjemstrup with helping to conduct the literature search.
Funding
The authors did not receive support from any organisation for the submitted work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
AD conceived the initial idea for the review. AJ, MN, and AD designed the review and conducted the literature screening. AJ and MN extracted the data, and AD provided a quality check. AJ, MN, and AD assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. AJ and MN wrote this manuscript. MK provided expert input during the development of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the revision of the manuscript and approved the final version.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
We have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this systematic review.
Ethical approval
The article does not contain personal and/or medical information about identifiable individuals, nor does this article involve human participation. Ethical approval was not needed, since primary studies were used.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
The original online version of this article was revised due to a retrospective Open Access cancellation.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Jahn, A., Nielsen, M.L., Kyndi, M. et al. Association between night work and prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 97, 207–215 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-023-02037-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-023-02037-9