Knowledge A 100 percent workload increases the risk of cancer

Full-time employees have an increased risk of cancer. As researchers from the University of Fribourg have shown in a new study, employees with a 100 percent workload are more likely to develop cancer than people with other career paths. The reasons for this are unclear.

However, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) announced on Wednesday that this is more the case for women. The SNSF supported the study, which has now been published in the journal "Scientific Reports". According to the study, women who are employed full-time have a significantly higher cancer risk than women who look after the household and children full-time. However, self-employed men are also less likely to develop cancer than employed men.

The researchers came to this conclusion by analyzing the career paths of over 12,500 women and men born between 1915 and 1945 from 14 countries in Europe and comparing them with cancer cases in these individuals.

Further studies will now clarify why this is the case.