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The Dangers of Chronic Jet Lag and Time Zone Changes: Increased Risk of Liver Cancer

Liver cancer can be a major risk for travelers who do too much transcontinental travel.

The reason? Time zone change.

Liver cancer, caused by the time zone change

When asked what could cause cancer, people are most likely to think of chemicals such as tobacco, food preservatives, energy drinks, alcohol, radiation, UV light from the Sun. Many point to being sedentary and not getting enough sleep at night. The latter may be partially right.

Epidemiological studies have found that chronic jet lag is an increased risk of liver cancer. Among them is a recent study led by researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and published in the Journal of Hepatology. It is the first to demonstrate experimentally that chronic jet lag is indeed a human carcinogen.

They tested two groups of mice, each with a liver containing human liver cells.

More and more passengers are opting for long, non-stop transcontinental air travel. This habit can be harmful to them. Photo Source -Dreamstime

What is circadian rhythm and how high is the risk of liver cancer?

The circadian rhythm is the 24-hour internal clock in our brain that regulates cycles of alertness, sleepiness, and virtually all bodily functions in sync with the planet’s day-night cycle. Recent studies have revealed that when the internal clock is out of sync, disease has a greater chance of developing. Humanized mice were exposed to two different conditions.

The first group was kept in sync with the natural day-night cycle. The second group of mice were kept on a schedule similar to that experienced by a person flying back and forth from San Francisco to London every week for a month.

It was found that compared to mice kept in normal light/dark cycles, mice in the second group had a shorter life span, developing cirrhosis, jaundice and cancer in both human and mouse liver cells

2024-02-17 13:43:03
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