Long working hours and cancer risk: a multi-cohort study

Katriina Heikkila; Solja T. Nyberg; Ida E. H. Madsen; Ernest de Vroome; Lars Alfredsson; Jakob J. Bjorner; Marianne Borritz; Hermann Burr; Raimund Erbel; Jane E. Ferrie; Eleonor I. Fransson; Goedele A. Geuskens; Wendela E. Hooftman; Irene L. Houtman; Karl-Heinz Joeckel; Anders Knutsson; Markku Koskenvuo; Thorsten Lunau; Martin L. Nielsen; Maria Nordin; Tuula Oksanen; Jan H. Pejtersen; Jaana Pentti; Martin J. Shipley; Andrew Steptoe; Sakari B. Suominen; Toeres Theorell; Jussi Vahtera; Peter J. M. Westerholm; Hugo Westerlund; Nico Dragano; Reiner Rugulies; Ichiro Kawachi; G. David Batty; Archana Singh-Manoux; Marianna Virtanen; Mika Kivimaki

doi:10.1038/bjc.2016.9

Long working hours and cancer risk: a multi-cohort study

Katriina Heikkila, Solja T. Nyberg, Ida E. H. Madsen, Ernest de Vroome, Lars Alfredsson, Jakob J. Bjorner, Marianne Borritz, Hermann Burr, Raimund Erbel, Jane E. Ferrie, Eleonor I. Fransson, Goedele A. Geuskens, Wendela E. Hooftman, Irene L. Houtman, Karl-Heinz Joeckel, Anders Knutsson, Markku Koskenvuo, Thorsten Lunau, Martin L. Nielsen, Maria NordinTuula Oksanen, Jan H. Pejtersen, Jaana Pentti, Martin J. Shipley, Andrew Steptoe, Sakari B. Suominen, Toeres Theorell, Jussi Vahtera, Peter J. M. Westerholm, Hugo Westerlund, Nico Dragano, Reiner Rugulies, Ichiro Kawachi, G. David Batty, Archana Singh-Manoux, Marianna Virtanen, Mika Kivimaki

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Working longer than the maximum recommended hours is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but the relationship of excess working hours with incident cancer is unclear.
Methods: This multi-cohort study examined the association between working hours and cancer risk in 116 462 men and women who were free of cancer at baseline. Incident cancers were ascertained from national cancer, hospitalisation and death registers; weekly working hours were self-reported.
Results: During median follow-up of 10.8 years, 4371 participants developed cancer (n colorectal cancer: 393; n lung cancer: 247; n breast cancer: 833; and n prostate cancer: 534). We found no clear evidence for an association between working hours and the overall cancer risk. Working hours were also unrelated the risk of incident colorectal, lung or prostate cancers. Working greater than or equal to55 h per week was associated with 1.60-fold (95% confidence interval 1.12–2.29) increase in female breast cancer risk independently of age, socioeconomic position, shift- and night-time work and lifestyle factors, but this observation may have been influenced by residual confounding from parity.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that working long hours is unrelated to the overall cancer risk or the risk of lung, colorectal or prostate cancers. The observed association with breast cancer would warrant further research.

Original language	English
Journal	B J C
Volume	114
Pages (from-to)	813-818
Number of pages	6
ISSN	0007-0920
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2016.9
Publication status	Published - 2016

Keywords

Breast cancer
colorectal cancer
lung cancer
prostate cancer
working hours

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10.1038/bjc.2016.9Licence: CC BY

Cite this

Heikkila, K., Nyberg, S. T., Madsen, I. E. H., de Vroome, E., Alfredsson, L., Bjorner, J. J., Borritz, M., Burr, H., Erbel, R., Ferrie, J. E., Fransson, E. I., Geuskens, G. A., Hooftman, W. E., Houtman, I. L., Joeckel, K-H., Knutsson, A., Koskenvuo, M., Lunau, T., Nielsen, M. L., ... Kivimaki, M. (2016). Long working hours and cancer risk: a multi-cohort study. B J C, 114, 813-818. https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2016.9

Long working hours and cancer risk : a multi-cohort study. / Heikkila, Katriina; Nyberg, Solja T.; Madsen, Ida E. H.; de Vroome, Ernest; Alfredsson, Lars; Bjorner, Jakob J.; Borritz, Marianne; Burr, Hermann; Erbel, Raimund; Ferrie, Jane E.; Fransson, Eleonor I.; Geuskens, Goedele A.; Hooftman, Wendela E.; Houtman, Irene L.; Joeckel, Karl-Heinz; Knutsson, Anders; Koskenvuo, Markku; Lunau, Thorsten; Nielsen, Martin L.; Nordin, Maria; Oksanen, Tuula; Pejtersen, Jan H.; Pentti, Jaana; Shipley, Martin J.; Steptoe, Andrew; Suominen, Sakari B.; Theorell, Toeres; Vahtera, Jussi; Westerholm, Peter J. M.; Westerlund, Hugo; Dragano, Nico; Rugulies, Reiner; Kawachi, Ichiro; Batty, G. David; Singh-Manoux, Archana; Virtanen, Marianna; Kivimaki, Mika.

In: B J C, Vol. 114, 2016, p. 813-818.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Heikkila, K, Nyberg, ST, Madsen, IEH, de Vroome, E, Alfredsson, L, Bjorner, JJ, Borritz, M, Burr, H, Erbel, R, Ferrie, JE, Fransson, EI, Geuskens, GA, Hooftman, WE, Houtman, IL, Joeckel, K-H, Knutsson, A, Koskenvuo, M, Lunau, T, Nielsen, ML, Nordin, M, Oksanen, T, Pejtersen, JH, Pentti, J, Shipley, MJ, Steptoe, A, Suominen, SB, Theorell, T, Vahtera, J, Westerholm, PJM, Westerlund, H, Dragano, N, Rugulies, R, Kawachi, I, Batty, GD, Singh-Manoux, A, Virtanen, M & Kivimaki, M 2016, 'Long working hours and cancer risk: a multi-cohort study', B J C, vol. 114, pp. 813-818. https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2016.9

Heikkila, Katriina ; Nyberg, Solja T. ; Madsen, Ida E. H. ; de Vroome, Ernest ; Alfredsson, Lars ; Bjorner, Jakob J. ; Borritz, Marianne ; Burr, Hermann ; Erbel, Raimund ; Ferrie, Jane E. ; Fransson, Eleonor I. ; Geuskens, Goedele A. ; Hooftman, Wendela E. ; Houtman, Irene L. ; Joeckel, Karl-Heinz ; Knutsson, Anders ; Koskenvuo, Markku ; Lunau, Thorsten ; Nielsen, Martin L. ; Nordin, Maria ; Oksanen, Tuula ; Pejtersen, Jan H. ; Pentti, Jaana ; Shipley, Martin J. ; Steptoe, Andrew ; Suominen, Sakari B. ; Theorell, Toeres ; Vahtera, Jussi ; Westerholm, Peter J. M. ; Westerlund, Hugo ; Dragano, Nico ; Rugulies, Reiner ; Kawachi, Ichiro ; Batty, G. David ; Singh-Manoux, Archana ; Virtanen, Marianna ; Kivimaki, Mika. / Long working hours and cancer risk : a multi-cohort study. In: B J C. 2016 ; Vol. 114. pp. 813-818.

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title = "Long working hours and cancer risk: a multi-cohort study",

abstract = "Background: Working longer than the maximum recommended hours is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but the relationship of excess working hours with incident cancer is unclear.Methods: This multi-cohort study examined the association between working hours and cancer risk in 116 462 men and women who were free of cancer at baseline. Incident cancers were ascertained from national cancer, hospitalisation and death registers; weekly working hours were self-reported.Results: During median follow-up of 10.8 years, 4371 participants developed cancer (n colorectal cancer: 393; n lung cancer: 247; n breast cancer: 833; and n prostate cancer: 534). We found no clear evidence for an association between working hours and the overall cancer risk. Working hours were also unrelated the risk of incident colorectal, lung or prostate cancers. Working greater than or equal to55 h per week was associated with 1.60-fold (95% confidence interval 1.12–2.29) increase in female breast cancer risk independently of age, socioeconomic position, shift- and night-time work and lifestyle factors, but this observation may have been influenced by residual confounding from parity.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that working long hours is unrelated to the overall cancer risk or the risk of lung, colorectal or prostate cancers. The observed association with breast cancer would warrant further research.",

keywords = "Breast cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, working hours",

author = "Katriina Heikkila and Nyberg, {Solja T.} and Madsen, {Ida E. H.} and {de Vroome}, Ernest and Lars Alfredsson and Bjorner, {Jakob J.} and Marianne Borritz and Hermann Burr and Raimund Erbel and Ferrie, {Jane E.} and Fransson, {Eleonor I.} and Geuskens, {Goedele A.} and Hooftman, {Wendela E.} and Houtman, {Irene L.} and Karl-Heinz Joeckel and Anders Knutsson and Markku Koskenvuo and Thorsten Lunau and Nielsen, {Martin L.} and Maria Nordin and Tuula Oksanen and Pejtersen, {Jan H.} and Jaana Pentti and Shipley, {Martin J.} and Andrew Steptoe and Suominen, {Sakari B.} and Toeres Theorell and Jussi Vahtera and Westerholm, {Peter J. M.} and Hugo Westerlund and Nico Dragano and Reiner Rugulies and Ichiro Kawachi and Batty, {G. David} and Archana Singh-Manoux and Marianna Virtanen and Mika Kivimaki",

year = "2016",

doi = "10.1038/bjc.2016.9",

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journal = "The British journal of cancer. Supplement",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Long working hours and cancer risk

T2 - a multi-cohort study

AU - Heikkila, Katriina

AU - Nyberg, Solja T.

AU - Madsen, Ida E. H.

AU - de Vroome, Ernest

AU - Alfredsson, Lars

AU - Bjorner, Jakob J.

AU - Borritz, Marianne

AU - Burr, Hermann

AU - Erbel, Raimund

AU - Ferrie, Jane E.

AU - Fransson, Eleonor I.

AU - Geuskens, Goedele A.

AU - Hooftman, Wendela E.

AU - Houtman, Irene L.

AU - Joeckel, Karl-Heinz

AU - Knutsson, Anders

AU - Koskenvuo, Markku

AU - Lunau, Thorsten

AU - Nielsen, Martin L.

AU - Nordin, Maria

AU - Oksanen, Tuula

AU - Pejtersen, Jan H.

AU - Pentti, Jaana

AU - Shipley, Martin J.

AU - Steptoe, Andrew

AU - Suominen, Sakari B.

AU - Theorell, Toeres

AU - Vahtera, Jussi

AU - Westerholm, Peter J. M.

AU - Westerlund, Hugo

AU - Dragano, Nico

AU - Rugulies, Reiner

AU - Kawachi, Ichiro

AU - Batty, G. David

AU - Singh-Manoux, Archana

AU - Virtanen, Marianna

AU - Kivimaki, Mika

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - Background: Working longer than the maximum recommended hours is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but the relationship of excess working hours with incident cancer is unclear.Methods: This multi-cohort study examined the association between working hours and cancer risk in 116 462 men and women who were free of cancer at baseline. Incident cancers were ascertained from national cancer, hospitalisation and death registers; weekly working hours were self-reported.Results: During median follow-up of 10.8 years, 4371 participants developed cancer (n colorectal cancer: 393; n lung cancer: 247; n breast cancer: 833; and n prostate cancer: 534). We found no clear evidence for an association between working hours and the overall cancer risk. Working hours were also unrelated the risk of incident colorectal, lung or prostate cancers. Working greater than or equal to55 h per week was associated with 1.60-fold (95% confidence interval 1.12–2.29) increase in female breast cancer risk independently of age, socioeconomic position, shift- and night-time work and lifestyle factors, but this observation may have been influenced by residual confounding from parity.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that working long hours is unrelated to the overall cancer risk or the risk of lung, colorectal or prostate cancers. The observed association with breast cancer would warrant further research.

AB - Background: Working longer than the maximum recommended hours is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but the relationship of excess working hours with incident cancer is unclear.Methods: This multi-cohort study examined the association between working hours and cancer risk in 116 462 men and women who were free of cancer at baseline. Incident cancers were ascertained from national cancer, hospitalisation and death registers; weekly working hours were self-reported.Results: During median follow-up of 10.8 years, 4371 participants developed cancer (n colorectal cancer: 393; n lung cancer: 247; n breast cancer: 833; and n prostate cancer: 534). We found no clear evidence for an association between working hours and the overall cancer risk. Working hours were also unrelated the risk of incident colorectal, lung or prostate cancers. Working greater than or equal to55 h per week was associated with 1.60-fold (95% confidence interval 1.12–2.29) increase in female breast cancer risk independently of age, socioeconomic position, shift- and night-time work and lifestyle factors, but this observation may have been influenced by residual confounding from parity.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that working long hours is unrelated to the overall cancer risk or the risk of lung, colorectal or prostate cancers. The observed association with breast cancer would warrant further research.

KW - Breast cancer

KW - colorectal cancer

KW - lung cancer

KW - prostate cancer

KW - working hours

U2 - 10.1038/bjc.2016.9

DO - 10.1038/bjc.2016.9

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 26889978

VL - 114

SP - 813

EP - 818

JO - The British journal of cancer. Supplement

JF - The British journal of cancer. Supplement

SN - 0007-0920

ER -