Light at Night and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study

Jan 30, 2021Cancer research

Exposure to Light at Night and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer in the NIH-AARP Study

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Abstract

Higher estimated light at night exposure is associated with a 27% increase in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma risk.

The study involved 464,371 participants from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.
A total of 2,502 incident cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma were identified over up to 16.2 years of follow-up.
Individuals in the highest quintile of light at night exposure had a hazard ratio of 1.24 for developing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma compared to those in the lowest quintile.
The increased risk was consistent across sexes, with men showing a hazard ratio of 1.21 and women 1.28.
Stronger associations between light at night exposure and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma risk were observed in normal and overweight individuals compared to obese individuals.

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Circadian disruption may play a role in carcinogenesis. Recent research suggests that light at night (LAN), a circadian disruptor, may be a risk factor for cancer. Moreover, LAN has been linked to obesity and diabetes, two risk factors for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Here we examine the relationship between LAN and PDAC in an epidemiologic study of 464,371 participants from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. LAN was estimated from satellite imagery at baseline (1996), and incident primary PDAC cases were ascertained from state cancer registries. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate HRs and two-sided 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between quintiles of LAN and PDAC in the overall population stratified by sex. Over up to 16.2 years of follow-up, a total of 2,502 incident PDAC were identified in the cohort. Higher estimated LAN exposure was associated with an elevated PDAC risk. Compared with those living in areas in the lowest LAN quintile, those in areas in the highest quintile had a 27% increase PDAC risk [HR (95% CI), 1.24 (1.03-1.49)], with similar risk for men [1.21 (0.96-1.53)] and women [1.28 (0.94-1.75)]. In addition, stronger associations were observed in normal and overweight groups compared with the obese group (= 0.03). Our results support the hypothesis that LAN and circadian disruption may be risk factors for PDAC. SIGNIFICANCE: Our study suggests that higher LAN is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer, contributing to the growing literature that demonstrates the potentially adverse health effects of light pollution. P interaction

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Light at Night and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study

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