Night workers were found to have significantly higher levels of sex hormones at the wrong time, such as testosterone peaking between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
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The study by Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain suggests that increased levels of sex hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone, at the 'wrong' time might be to blame.
The researchers recruited 75 night and 42 day workers, ages 22 to 64 years, in different working settings and measured their hormone levels in the urine samples.
They found that night workers had higher levels of total progestogens and androgens, compared with day workers, after adjusting for potential confounders.
"We found increased levels of progestogens and androgens as well as delayed peak androgen production in night shift workers compared with day workers," said the study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention (CEBP).
Night workers were found to have significantly higher levels of sex hormones at the wrong time, such as testosterone peaking between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., rather than between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m.
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Source-IANS