Next steps
The team said that the next step is to conduct the same experiment with real-world shift workers who have been consistently on day or night shifts for many years to determine whether in night workers the unrepaired DNA damage builds up over time, which could ultimately increase the risk for cancer.
If what happens in real-world shift workers is consistent with the current findings, this work could eventually be used to develop prevention strategies and drugs that could address the mistiming of DNA repair processes, they suggested.
“Night shift workers face considerable health disparities, ranging from increased risks of metabolic and cardiovascular disease to mental health disorders and cancer,” co-senior author Hans Van Dongen, PhD, a professor at Washington State University in Pullman and director of the WSU Sleep and Performance Research Center, Spokane, said in a statement. “It is high time that we find diagnosis and treatment solutions for this underserved group of essential workers so that the medical community can address their unique health challenges.”
The study was supported by start-up funds from Washington State University and a Center for Human Health and the Environment grant from North Carolina State University, and in part by the United States Army Medical Research and Development Command, the National Institutes of Health, CDMRP (Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs) Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program award, and the BRAVE investment.
The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.