Shift work, sleep, morbidity and mortality
This project aims to gain in-depth knowledge of the possible association between shift work, sleep, morbidity (such as cancer) and mortality, using data from the Swedish Twin Registry.
the reason why night work for example increases the risk of breast cancer and other cancers is not clear. One hypothesis is that night work leads to circadian rhythm disorders which affect the hormone melatonin. Previous studies have also examined whether shift work increases the risk of other cancers such as prostate and colon cancer. For these types of cancers, the state of knowledge is still unclear and one cannot yet draw any conclusions on shift work is a risk factor for these tumors.