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Abstract
We have reported a high prevalence of breast cancer in light-polluted areas in Korea. However, it is necessary to analyze the spatial effects of light polluted areas on breast cancer because light pollution levels are correlated with region proximity to central urbanized areas in studied cities. In this study, we applied a spatial regression method (an intrinsic conditional autoregressive [iCAR] model) to analyze the relationship between the incidence of breast cancer and artificial light at night (ALAN) levels in 25 regions including central city, urbanized, and rural areas. By Poisson regression analysis, there was a significant correlation between ALAN, alcohol consumption rates, and the incidence of breast cancer. We also found significant spatial effects between ALAN and the incidence of breast cancer, with an increase in the deviance information criterion (DIC) from 374.3 to 348.6 and an increase in R2 from 0.574 to 0.667. Therefore, spatial analysis (an iCAR model) is more appropriate for assessing ALAN effects on breast cancer. To our knowledge, this study is the first to show spatial effects of light pollution on breast cancer, despite the limitations of an ecological study. We suggest that a decrease in ALAN could reduce breast cancer more than expected because of spatial effects.
Highlights
Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, and its etiology is unclear (Polyak, 2011; Rivenbark et al, 2013)
It is necessary to analyze the spatial effects of light polluted areas on breast cancer because light pollution levels are correlated with region proximity to central urbanized areas in studied cities
We showed the incidences of breast cancer and artificial light at night (ALAN) intensities for each region with a geographic information system (ArcGIS)
Summary
Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease, and its etiology is unclear (Polyak, 2011; Rivenbark et al, 2013). Circadian disruption by exposure to artificial light at night (ALAN) for a long time may be a risk factor for breast cancer in the general population. Geographic information system (GIS) based studies showed a significant correlation between ALAN and breast cancer in Israel, USA, and Korea (Kloog et al, 2008; Bauer et al, 2013; Kim et al, 2015). The communities with the highest ALAN in Israel had a 73% higher incidence of breast cancer relative to the communities with the darkest environments (Kloog et al, 2008). In the USA study (2000-2007), women who lived in high ALAN intensity exposure regions showed a 1.12-fold increased breast cancer incidence (Bauer et al, 2013). The Korean study showed a significant association between the prevalence rates for breast cancer and ALAN in urban and rural areas with no association between ALAN and other cancers in women (Kim et al, 2015)
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