Women who used chemical hair straightening products were at higher risk for uterine cancer compared to women who did not report using these products, according to a new study from the National Institutes of Health. The researchers found no associations with uterine cancer for other hair products that the women reported using, including hair dyes, bleach, highlights, or perms.
The study data includes 33,497 U.S.
women ages 35-74 participating in the Sister Study, a study led by the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of NIH, that seeks to
identify risk factors for breast cancer and other health conditions. The women
were followed for almost 11 years and during that time 378 uterine cancer cases
were diagnosed.
The researchers found that women who
reported frequent use of hair straightening products, defined as more than four
times in the previous year, were more than twice as likely to go on to develop
uterine cancer compared to those who did not use the products.
“We estimated that 1.64% of women who
never used hair straighteners would go on to develop uterine cancer by the age
of 70; but for frequent users, that risk goes up to 4.05%,” said Alexandra
White, Ph.D., head of the NIEHS Environment and Cancer Epidemiology group and
lead author on the new study. “This doubling rate is concerning. However, it is
important to put this information into context — uterine cancer is a relatively
rare type of cancer.”
Uterine cancer accounts for about 3% of
all new cancer cases but is the most common cancer of the female reproductive
system, with 65,950 estimated new cases in 2022. Studies show that incidence
rates of uterine cancer have been rising in the United States, particularly
among Black women.
Approximately 60% of the participants
who reported using straighteners in the previous year were self-identified
Black women, according to the study published in the Journal of the National
Cancer Institute. Although, the study did not find that the relationship
between straightener use and uterine cancer incidence was different by race,
the adverse health effects may be greater for Black women due to higher
prevalence of use.
“Because Black women use hair
straightening or relaxer products more frequently and tend to initiate use at
earlier ages than other races and ethnicities, these findings may be even more
relevant for them,” said Che-Jung Chang, Ph.D., an author on the new study and
a research fellow in the NIEHS Epidemiology Branch.
The findings are consistent with prior
studies showing straighteners can increase the risk of hormone-related cancers
in women.
The researchers did not collect
information on brands or ingredients in the hair products the women used.
However, in the paper they note that several chemicals that have been found in
straighteners (such as parabens, bisphenol A, metals, and formaldehyde) could
be contributing to the increased uterine cancer risk observed. Chemical
exposure from hair product use, especially straighteners, could be more
concerning than other personal care products due to increased absorption
through the scalp which may be exacerbated by burns and lesions caused by
straighteners.
“To our knowledge this is the first
epidemiologic study that examined the relationship between straightener use and
uterine cancer,” said White. “More research is needed to confirm these findings
in different populations, to determine if hair products contribute to health
disparities in uterine cancer, and to identify the specific chemicals that may
be increasing the risk of cancers in women.”
This team previously found that permanent hair dye and straighteners may increase breast and ovarian cancer risk.
Source: https://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsroom/releases/2022/october17/index.cfm
Journal article: https://academic.oup.com/jnci/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jnci/djac165/6759686
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