Men who work shifts are not at an increased risk of developing prostate cancer, a new study suggests.

Previous research has suggested that people who work shifts are at an increased risk of developing certain types of cancer, such as breast cancer. Between one and five and one in six workers currently work shifts, however the specific link between shift work and prostate cancer has not been studied at great length.

German researchers decided to look into this further. They analysed the personnel and health data of almost 28,000 men working in a chemical company in Germany between 1995 and 2005.

Some 340 of the workers developed cancer of the prostate, but these included a comparable number of day and shift workers. The researchers concluded that men who work shifts do not appear to develop prostate cancer more frequently than men who work during the day.

The researchers pointed out that their study included detailed data on a large number of participants.

Details of their findings are published in the German medical journal, Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.