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Hair Straightening Chemicals Linked to Uterine Cancer
In a recent article by the NIH, researchers linked hair straightening chemicals with a greater risk of uterine cancer, affecting Black women more.
On October 17, 2022, the NIH announced results from a study it funded that associated permanent straightening chemicals with a greater risk of uterine cancer. Based on these results and the surveyed population, the risk is more significant for Black women. Understanding how lifestyle contributes to the risk of uterine cancer can inform screening protocols.
According to the announcement, 33,497 individuals assigned female at birth were participants in the study. The participants were between 35 and 74 years old and were followed over the course of 11 years. Of all the participants, 378 developed uterine cancer.
“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,” stated the article.
Of the patients who never used hair straightening chemicals, only 1.64% developed uterine cancer. The risk for participants who use the products frequently increases to 4.05%. While this risk is relatively low, compared to those who did not use these chemicals, it was a greater than 50% increase.
In the United States, there are approximately 65,950 new cases of uterine cancer each year. These diagnoses account for 3% of all cancer diagnoses and most female reproductive cancers.
“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, PhD, an author of the new study and a research fellow in the NIEHS Epidemiology Branch, in the article.
Nearly 60% of the participants who frequently used hair straightening products were Black. While the effects of the chemicals did not differ by race, the frequency of use could impact rates.
“To our knowledge, this is the first epidemiologic study that examined the relationship between straightener use and uterine cancer,” said Alexandra White, PhD, head of the NIEHS Environment and Cancer Epidemiology group and lead author on the new study, in the article. “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.”
