High prevalence of breast cancer in light polluted areas in urban and rural regions of South Korea: An ecologic study on the treatment prevalence of female cancers based on National Health Insurance data

Abstract

It has been reported that excessive artificial light at night (ALAN) could harm human health since it disturbs the natural bio-rhythm and sleep. Such conditions can lead to various diseases, including cancer. In this study, we have evaluated the association between ALAN and prevalence rates of cancer in females on a regional basis, after adjusting for other risk factors, including obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption rates and PM₁₀ levels. The prevalence rates for breast cancer were found to be significantly associated with ALAN in urban and rural areas. Furthermore, no association was found with ALAN in female lung, liver, cervical, gastric and colon cancer. Despite the limitations of performing ecological studies, this report suggests that ALAN might be a risk factor for breast cancer, even in rural areas.

• Artificial light at night
• breast cancer
• generalized poisson distribution
• light pollution
• treatment prevalence

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

This work was supported by a future environmental R&D grant (RE201206020) funded by the Korean Environmental Industry and Technology Institute. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. All authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Supplementary material available online

Supplementary Table 1 and Figures 1 and 2.