Men who have trouble sleeping may face an increased cancer risk, researchers have reported.
A study in Iceland has linked the development of prostate cancer to poor sleep.
Men with undiagnosed prostate cancer may have poor sleep because of needing to get up during the night to urinate.
The researchers say their findings exclude this possibility – as they have accounted for men with this problem.
The findings, reported in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, come from a study of more than 2,000 men over a five year period. About 16% complained of severe sleep problems at the start of the research.
Over the five year period some 6.4% were diagnosed with prostate cancer. The researchers said problems getting to sleep or staying asleep were linked with risk of prostate cancer that was doubled.
Researcher Dr Lara Sigurdardóttir, of the University of Iceland, Reykjavik, said: "Sleep problems are very common in modern society and can have adverse health consequences.
"Women with sleep disruption have consistently been reported to be at an increased risk for breast cancer, but less is known about the potential role of sleep problems in prostate cancer."
She added: "Prostate cancer is one of the leading public health concerns for men and sleep problems are quite common. If our results are confirmed with further studies, sleep may become a potential target for intervention to reduce the risk for prostate cancer."
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