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. 2013 Jan 15;108(1):213-21.
doi: 10.1038/bjc.2012.561. Epub 2013 Jan 3.

Sleep duration and incidence of colorectal cancer in postmenopausal women

L Jiao  1 , Z Duan, H Sangi-Haghpeykar, L Hale, D L White, H B El-Serag
Affiliations

Sleep duration and incidence of colorectal cancer in postmenopausal women

L Jiao et al. Br J Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: Sleep duration is dependent on circadian rhythm that controls a variety of key cellular functions. Circadian disruption has been implicated in colorectal tumorigenesis in experimental studies. We prospectively examined the association between sleep duration and risk of colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods: In the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study, 75 828 postmenopausal women reported habitual sleep duration at baseline 1993-1998. We used Cox proportional hazards regression model to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) of CRC and its associated 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results: We ascertained 851 incident cases of CRC through 2010, with an average 11.3 years of follow-up. Compared with 7 h of sleep, the HRs were 1.36 (95% CI 1.06-1.74) and 1.47 (95% CI 1.10-1.96) for short (≤5 h) and long (≥9 h) sleep duration, respectively, after adjusting for age, ethnicity, fatigue, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), physical activity, and waist to hip ratio. The association was modified by the use of HRT (P-interaction=0.03).

Conclusion: Both extreme short and long sleep durations were associated with a moderate increase in the risk of CRC in postmenopausal women. Sleep duration may be a novel, independent, and potentially modifiable risk factor for CRC.

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Conflict of interest statement

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Plot of hazard ratios and 95% CIs of colorectal cancer according to habitual sleep duration per night. Seven-hour is the reference group. Hazard ratios were adjusted for age, ethnicity, fatigue, HRT, WHR, and physical activity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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