Sound sleep may be important to breast cancer survival

Written By: Agencies | Updated : June 11, 2015 4:17 PM IST

Lack of sufficient sleep has been linked to poor breast cancer survival rates. Short sleep duration and frequent snoring during pre-diagnostic stage are associated with significantly poorer cancer-specific survival, particularly among women with breast cancer, says a study. The results may motivate cancer patients to improve their sleep patterns. Our results suggest that sleep duration is important for breast cancer survival, particularly in women who snore, said lead author Amanda Phipps, assistant professor of epidemiology, at the University of Washington in Seattle. Read: Mammography screening reduces the risk of dying from breast cancer

The study group comprised of 21,230 women diagnosed with a first primary invasive cancer during follow-up from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). Participants provided information on several sleep attributes at study baseline, including sleep duration, snoring and components of the WHI Insomnia Rating Scale. Analyses were adjusted for age at enrollment, study arm, cancer site, marital status, household income, smoking, physical activity and time-lag between baseline data collection and cancer diagnosis. Also read: Now breast cancer patients can avoid chemo?

The study found short sleep duration and frequent snoring were linked to significantly poorer breast cancer-specific survival.

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The study was outlined online in the journal Sleep.

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Source: IANS

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