Outdoor light and breast cancer incidence: a comparative analysis of DMSP and VIIRS-DNB satellite data

Several population-level studies explored the association between breast cancer (BC) incidence and artificial light-at-night (ALAN), and found higher BC rates in more lit areas. Most of these studies used ALAN satellite data, available from the United States Defence Meteorological Satellite Program (US-DMSP), while, in recent years, higher-resolution ALAN data sources, such as Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite Day-Night Band (VIIRS-DNB), have become available. The present study aims to determine whether the use of different ALAN data sources may affect the BC-ALAN association. As the test case, we use data on BC incidence rates in women residing in the Greater Haifa Metropolitan Area (GHMA; Israel), matching them with US-DMSP and VIIRS-DNB data on ALAN intensities, and controlling for several potential confounders, including age, fertility, and socio-economic status (SES). Both ordinary least squares (OLS) and spatial dependency models were used in the analysis. ALAN emerged as a stronger predictor of BC rates in models based on better-resolution VIIRS-DNB estimates (t > 6.035; p < 0.01) than in models based on coarser US-DMSP data (t < 4.196; p < 0.01).