A new study has revealed that hair-straightening products may significantly increase the risk of developing uterine cancer. According to the study, the risk is higher among those who frequently use these 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%,” lead study author Alexandra White of the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Safety (NIEHS) said in a statement on Monday.
White also informed that uterine cancer is a relatively rare type of cancer. While conducting the study the researchers tracked 33,947 racially diverse women, ages 35 to 74, for an average of nearly 11 years. During that time, 378 women developed uterine cancer, the scientists found.
After analysing participants’ other risk factors, the chances of developing uterine cancer were more than two and a half times higher for women who had used straightening products more than four times in the previous year.
Moreover, less frequent straightener use in the past year also was associated with an elevated uterine cancer risk, but the difference was not statistically significant, meaning it might have been due to chance.
Previous studies have shown that hair straighteners contain so-called endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The products have previously been associated with higher risks of breast and ovarian cancer.
“These findings are the first epidemiologic evidence of association between use of straightening products and uterine cancer. More research is warranted to … identify specific chemicals driving this observed association,” White and colleagues wrote in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute as quoted by Reuters.
The scientists also emphasised that the link between straightener use and uterine cancer did not differ by race in the study.
“…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,” Che-Jung Chang of NIEHS said in a statement.
ALSO READ | Gynecologists’ body urges centre to include HPV vaccine in national vaccination programme
