If you are a woman that is often using hair straightening products – we have bad news for you. Researchers at the National Institute of Health found out that frequent use of hair straightening products may increase the risk of developing uterine cancer by 2.5 times.
“We estimated that 1.64% of women who never used hair straighteners would develop uterine cancer by the age of 70. But for frequent users, that risk goes up to 4.05%.” – Alexandra White, a lead researcher on the study from the US National Institute of Environmental Health Safety revealed. “However, it is important to put this information into context. Uterine cancer is a relatively rare type of cancer.”
Hair Straightening Products Linked To Increased Cancer Risk According To Study
Regardless of the fact that uterine cancer is not something that presents a big health threat to women in the United States or the world in general, the fact that a simple frequently used chemical can increase the chances of cancer by a noteworthy percentage, is terrifying.
Uterine cancer is one of the most common gynecologic cancers in the US. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention backs up this fact with numbers.
NIH conducted the hair product research on almost 34 000 women from all racial groups. The participants were within the age range of 35 – 74 years old when NIH started the study, The study lasted for complete 11 years.
During the 11 years, a shocking number of 378 women have reported developing uterine cancer. That is more than 1% of the total number of participants. When you say 1% the number doesn’t seem big. However, this means that every 100th woman at one point might develop uterine cancer. This is something that is disturbing and alarming.
The researchers did a complete background check on the participating affected women and took into consideration all risk factors. The odds of developing uterine cancer is more than 2.5 times higher for women that use hair straightening products. The institute put the margin in using the products at least every quarter of the year.
Some women that didn’t use hair straightening products also developed uterine cancer. However, the numbers are so small, that they are insignificant.
The researchers point out the endocrine-disrupting chemicals in hair straightening products as a potential reason for the development of cancer.
“These findings are the first epidemiologic evidence of an association between the use of straightening products and uterine cancer.” – White wrote in the Journal of the NCI. “We warrant more research to … identify specific chemicals driving this observed association.”
The numbers did not show any difference in the results due to the racial features of the women. The chances of developing uterine cancer are equal for all races. However, “Black women use hair straightening or relaxer products more frequently. They tend to initiate use at earlier ages than other races and ethnicities. These findings may be even more relevant for them.” – according to Che-Jung Chang, a National Institute of Environmental Health Safety researcher.
