Shedding Light on a Cause of Breast Cancer

How important is light as a factor?

I quote the above article:-

"breast cancer incidence is about 73 percent higher in communities with the greatest amount of artificial light at night than in communities with the least"

When they mentioned that breast cancer appears 73% higher in places with more artificial light, it does not mean light itself is the sole causative factor leading to the great difference in breast cancer incidence.

As we know, places with less artificial light is also less developed and you can expect less pollution, less stress, etc. which are well recognized causes of cancer. Thus light is not the only factor in this case leading to a lower incidence of breast cancer.

Thus the question to ask is how important light pollution is as a cause of breast cancer. For all we know, out of the 73%, only 2% could be due to light pollution.

of @ Feb 24, 2008 04:34:01 AM

light pollution education

learn more at www.britelitesout.com there are so many reasons to act on this problem. And Anothony has some great solutions.

Jina Saccacio of FL @ Feb 22, 2008 19:20:19 PM

Light and breast cancer

For an overview article see "Lighting for the human circadian clock: recent research indicates that lighting has become a public health issue"; J of Medical Hypotheses; vol 63, 588-596 (2004); SM Pauley

Why has OSHA ignored the shift work risks? The IARC (WHO equivalent of OSHA) now lists shift work as a "probable carcinogen".

Is the lighting industry lobby so powerful it can over-ride public health and safety and continue to block state-wide lighting ordinances designed to eliminate light pollution?

S Pauley of ID @ Feb 22, 2008 19:08:25 PM

Light At Night A Threat To Your Health

Light at night as a threat to human health has been on the radar for some time. It's good to see that we're learning more about its dangerous effects (even as we light up every square inch of the planet).

Checkout (http://www.starrynightlights.com/lightpollution/light_pollution_and_human_health.html) for a collection of recent articles on the subject.

You can ignore the mounting evidence or keep your head in the sand...

Anthony Arrigo of UT @ Feb 22, 2008 13:42:13 PM

More likely cause of breast cancer

Melatonin is important, and can also be supplemented. I would be curious to see if that would negate the alleged effects.

A few articles on a more likely cause of breast cancer can be found at:

http://www.controlyourimpact.com/

Michael H of WA @ Feb 22, 2008 12:05:25 PM

Planning to follow up

Robert, thanks for alerting me to what's going on in Missouri. There's certainly a lot being done about light pollution in the arenas of regulation and conservation. Connecticut, I also hope we get more data. What we've got so far is pretty interesting, and I plan to write more about the topic soon. I welcome suggestions and questions.

Ben Harder of DC @ Feb 22, 2008 11:24:24 AM

Harder breast cancer article

This is definitely thought-provoking, although good science should always be concerned about the validity of study results. Hopefully we can get more data on this, as breast cancer is certainly a major health concern for women.

of CT @ Feb 22, 2008 10:39:08 AM

Both are a non-issue

Artificial lighting and Global warming. I guess the apocalypses is upon us.

Get over it!

Against Stupidity of UT @ Feb 21, 2008 15:40:56 PM