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According to a new study, too short or too long nights could be responsible for an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Inflammation of the breast tissue would be involved.
We knew so far the deleterious effects of alcohol, tobacco or lack of exercise on the risk of developing cancer. It now seems that sleep, or the poor quality of it more specifically, also contributes to increasing the risks, particularly with regard to breast cancer. According to a study to be published in December in the journal Cytokine, poor sleep could indeed lead to inflammation of the breast tissue and cause a series of reactions, including this female cancer.
Higher inflammatory markers in women who sleep too much or too little
The researchers from Laval University in Quebec involved in this study thus undertook to identify the presence of 11 inflammatory markers associated with breast cancer, in the breast tissue of 165 women, while cross-referencing these data with the sleep of the participants. Hours of sleep, insomnia, taking sleeping pills… all their habits have been scrutinized.
According to their statements, three of the markers studied (IL-6, IL-10 and CRP) stand out in women who sleep less than 7 hours, or more than 9 hours per night. The expression of genes for two markers (IL-6 and COX-2) was also higher in these women who slept too much or too little. The study also reveals that in postmenopausal women, the higher the frequency of insomnia, the higher the level of the CRP marker. Taking medication to aid sleep was also associated with higher levels of the TGF-β marker.
Women’s sleep, a public health problem
For Sue-Ling Chang, principal investigator of the study, the discovery of a possible link between sleep and the onset of breast cancer is important in terms of prevention. “Our results will need to be confirmed with a larger cohort of women, but they suggest that poor quality sleep is indeed associated with breast inflammation.” she declares.
“Our results indicate that sleep duration, sleeping pills and insomnia may affect women’s breast tissue differently depending on menopausal status. From a public health perspective, these results merit further validation in larger studies. Since sleep is a modifiable factor, it can be an interesting approach for the prevention of breast cancer, the Sleep issue should be addressed during medical visits.” she establishes.
An important subject to take into account: according to known data, breast cancer is the most frequently observed cancer in women. Insomnia is also a largely female problem. According to the author, 46% of women suffer from daily sleep disorders