Hair-straightening chemical products linked to increased uterine cancer risk

A study by the National Institutes of Health found that those who used chemical products to straighten their hair were more likely to develop uterine cancer.

Women who use hair-straightening chemicals are at higher risk for uterine cancer compared to those who don’t, a new study by the National Institutes of Health has found.

The study, published this week, found that of the 33,497 participants, those who used chemical products designed to straighten their hair more than four times a year were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer.

The researchers followed the large group of women, who were between the ages of 35 and 74, for 11 years. In that time, 378 cases of uterine cancer were diagnosed.

The study estimates that among women who did not use hair-straightening chemical products in the past 12 months, 1.6 per cent were diagnosed with uterine cancer by age 70. However, around four per cent of women who frequently used the products developed the cancer by age 70.

Chandra Jackson, an author of the study and researcher at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), noted that while uterine cancer is rare, the “doubling of risk does lead to some concern.”

“In this study, women with frequent use in the past year had an over two-fold higher risk of uterine cancer,” she told CNN.

Previous and ongoing research has suggested that the use of certain hair products, including hair-straightening chemicals, can be linked to some hormone-driven cancers, like breast cancer and ovarian cancer. This is the first time a study has linked the product to uterine cancer, specifically.

The chemicals contained in many hair-straightening products that are linked to cancer are known as endocrine disrupting chemicals.