Working at night has been associated with a wide range of negative health effects, including cognitive impairment, metabolic disorders, and breast cancer…Now, new research examines how night shifts influence the body’s ability to repair its DNA.
In a previous study, [Parveen Bhatti, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington] showed that sleeping during the day correlated with lower levels of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), which is a chemical released as a byproduct by the body when it works to repair its own DNA.
The authors were therefore led to believe that these low levels of 8-OH-dG found in the urine may indicate the body’s impaired ability to repair its cellular damage.
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To further explore this idea, Dr. Bhatti and colleagues set out to examine whether night work also correlates with reduced urinary levels of 8-OH-dG…[They] selected 50 shift workers from the 223 included in their former research.
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“Our results,” write the authors, “indicate that, relative to night sleep, reduced melatonin production among shift workers during night work is associated with significantly reduced urinary excretion of 8-OH-dG.”
Dr. Bhatti and colleagues also explain what these results mean, saying, “This likely reflects a reduced capacity to repair oxidative DNA damage due to insufficient levels of melatonin and may result in cells harboring higher levels of DNA damage.”
[Read the full study here (behind paywall)]
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