ReviewPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2015
Artificial light at night: melatonin as a mediator between the environment and epigenome.
Review in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Impact of Sunlight and Artificial Light at Night on Sleep Stages: Evidence From a 7-Day Sensor-Based Observational Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Observational
- Melanopic equivalent daylight illuminance of 2 lx maintains and restores physiological and neurophysiological circadian rhythms in rats.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Exposure to artificial lighting at night: from an ecological challenge to a risk factor for glucose dysmetabolism and gestational diabetes? Narrative review.Annals of medicine · 2025Review
- Effects of air and light pollution on brain and behavioral function: Potential synergy.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2025Review
- Circadian Rhythm Disruptions and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: The Special Role of Melatonin.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
- Light at night negatively affects mood in diurnal primate-like tree shrews via a visual pathway related to the perihabenular nucleus.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Sex-Specific Methylomic and Transcriptomic Responses of the Avian Pineal Gland to Unpredictable Illumination Patterns.Journal of pineal research · 2025Article
- Artificial Light at Night and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.Diabetes & metabolism journal · 2024Review
- Opportunity to view the starry night sky is linked to human emotion and behavioral interest in astronomy.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Insights into the Effect of Light Pollution on Mental Health: Focus on Affective Disorders-A Narrative Review.Brain sciences · 2024Review
- Review
- Endocrine-circadian interactions in birds: implications when nights are no longer dark.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2024Review
- Crickets in the spotlight: exploring the impact of light on circadian behavior.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2024Review
- Urban environment influences on stress, autonomic reactivity and circadian rhythm: protocol for an ambulatory study of mental health and sleep.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Association between Outdoor Light at Night and Prostate Cancer in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2023Article
- Fiat Lux: Light and Pedagogy for the 21st Century.Annals of neurosciences · 2023Article
- Sex- and age-specific association between outdoor light at night and obesity in Chinese adults: A national cross-sectional study of 98,658 participants from 162 study sites.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Article
- Is Melatonin the "Next Vitamin D"?: A Review of Emerging Science, Clinical Uses, Safety, and Dietary Supplements.Nutrients · 2022Review
- The Prevalence of Depression Symptoms and Their Socioeconomic and Health Predictors in a Local Community with a High Deprivation: A Cross-Sectional Studies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Environmental Influences on Sleep in the California Teachers Study Cohort.American journal of epidemiology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The adverse effects of excessive use of artificial light at night (ALAN) are becoming increasingly evident and associated with several health problems including cancer. Results of epidemiological studies revealed that the increase in breast cancer incidents co-distribute with ALAN worldwide. There is compiling evidence that suggests that melatonin suppression is linked to ALAN-induced cancer risks, but the specific genetic mechanism linking environmental exposure and the development of disease is not well known. Here we propose a possible genetic link between environmental exposure and tumorigenesis processes. We discuss evidence related to the relationship between epigenetic remodelling and oncogene expression. In breast cancer, enhanced global hypomethylation is expected in oncogenes, whereas in tumour suppressor genes local hypermethylation is recognized in the promoter CpG chains. A putative mechanism of action involving epigenetic modifications mediated by pineal melatonin is discussed in relation to cancer prevalence. Taking into account that ALAN-induced epigenetic modifications are reversible, early detection of cancer development is of great significance in the treatment of the disease. Therefore, new biomarkers for circadian disruption need to be developed to prevent ALAN damage.
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