Lights at Night Linked to Breast Cancer

[environmentalist]

From THE ENVIRONMENTALIST:

A study of NASA satellite data, overlaid with reported cancer statistics, has identified nighttime exposure to lighted areas as a risk factor for breast cancer:

Women who live in neighborhoods with large amounts of nighttime illumination are more likely to get breast cancer than those who live in areas where nocturnal darkness prevails, according to an unusual study that overlaid satellite images of Earth onto cancer registries.

"By no means are we saying that light at night is the only or the major risk factor for breast cancer," said Itai Kloog, of the University of Haifa, who led the new work. "But we found a clear and strong correlation that should be taken into consideration."

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[lildreamer316]

1. Ooooookay.

What.The.Hell.

This is just.....unbelieveable.

Well, guess I'm dead then.:crazy:

[RevCheesehead]

2. Does this mean I have to give up my night light?

:scared:

[gaspee]

3. Huh

So, uhm... industrialization is bad for us?

Good to know.

[MADem]

7. I think you made the actual correlation!

Of course, more people tend to live in those industrialized, populated areas, too!

[girl gone mad]

4. As an astronomer, I'm all for eliminating light pollution,

but this study looks flawed. Heavily lighted areas also tend to be heavily polluted. Most people have blinds, shades and curtains which block external light at night. Melatonin peaks in the early morning hours, long after a person has fallen asleep and, presumably, shut their eyes to block out most light.

Drawing conclusions from this study would be premature, to say the least.

[Frank Cannon]

5. I agree. Association does not necessarily imply causality.

I thought scientists knew this.

[radfringe]

6. seems to me this settles the dispute about

lights on or lights off... :evilgrin:

[kickysnana]

8. "Scientists have discovered that swallowing saliva over a long period of time causes cancer"

--George Carlin.

[originalpckelly]

9. Probably more about living in developed areas with chemicals/smog...

and not light. Rural areas would tend to be less developed, have less nocturnal lighting, and therefore less chance of pollution. (Although fertilizers/pesticides might indeed cause that hypothesis to fail.)

[distantearlywarning]

10. Correlation doesn't equal causation.

There are many aspects of life in "well-lit" areas that might lead to high rates of cancer other than the lighting itself.