Are you an avid air traveler? Beware! Researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine in the United States have warned that frequent jet lags can increase the risk of both obesity-related liver disease and liver cancer.
In a mice trial, researchers have found that chronically jet-lagged mice were most likely to suffer from liver cancer. The progression of the disease was very similar to that seen in obese humans, they added.
“Liver cancer is on the rise worldwide, and in human studies we have now seen that patients can progress from fatty liver disease to liver cancer without any middle steps such as cirrhosis,” study’s lead author David Moore, Professor at Baylor College of Medicine in the US, said.
In the study, the researchers altered sleep and wake-up timings of mice. The alteration was similar to that seen in a jet lag phase. All healthy mice were fed on a healthy diet
Researchers found that mice gained weight and fat. They developed fatty liver disease which subsequently progressed to chronic inflammation and eventually into liver cancer.
The jetlagged mice slowly lost normal control over liver metabolism, resulting in build-up of fat and increased production of bile acids. All these alterations were directly linked to heightened risk of liver cancer.
The findings of the study are published in the journal Cancer Cell.
