Uterine carcinoma was twice as likely to occur in women who used hair straightening products as in those who did not.
Through Daphne Clarance According to a study, the ingredients in hair straightening products may have a connection to uterine cancer.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported that researchers gathered information from 33,497 American women between the ages of 35 and 74 who had previously taken part in a sister study sponsored by the NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).
378 new cases of uterine cancer were discovered while the women were being followed for nearly 11 years. When using hair straighteners frequently, the risk of developing uterine cancer increases to 4.05%, according to Alexandra White, Ph.D. Lead author of the paper and director of the NIEHS Environment and Cancer Epidemiology division. By the time they reach the age of 70, 1.64 percent of women who have never used hair straighteners are predicted to have uterine cancer, according to White.
According to the authors, certain hair products, including hair straighteners and various colours, have been linked to cancers that are susceptible to hormones, such as breast and ovarian cancer. The use of straighteners has been linked to an increased risk of ovarian cancer in previous studies, but this is the first investigation into how the products may affect uterine cancer risk.
It was discovered that women who admitted to using hair straightening products had a twofold increased risk of developing uterine cancer compared to those who did not.
This rate of doubling is alarming. The context of this information is crucial, though, as uterine cancer is a relatively uncommon type of cancer.
Although the brand and components of the hair treatments the women used were not recorded by the researchers, it was stated in the report that a number of chemicals present in straightening products, including parabens, bisphenol A, metals, and formaldehyde, may be raising the risk of uterine cancer.
The participants who admitted to using straighteners in the previous year self-identified as Black women in the majority (60%) of cases. The study did not discover a difference association between uterine cancer incidence and race, however Black women may be more at risk for the negative health repercussions.
More study is required, according to Alexandra White, to validate these results in various populations, assess whether hair products contribute to health disparities in uterine cancer, and discover the precise substances that could be increasing women’s risk of developing cancer.
She advises that additional study is required to confirm these results in various communities, to evaluate whether hair products contribute to uterine cancer health disparities, and to pinpoint the precise chemicals that may be raising women’s cancer risk.
