Hair Dyes & Bladder Cancer

[Guest guest]

Hair Dyes & Bladder Cancer

Jan 08, 2004 18:20 PST

 

Women who hide their natural hair color with regular applications of

permanent hair dye may be putting themselves at increased risk for

bladder cancer, new research findings suggest.

 

" Our study is the first to demonstrate a frequency- and

duration-dependent association between personal use of permanent

hair-dyes and bladder cancer risk, " lead study author Dr. Manuela

Gago-Dominguez, from the Keck School of Medicine at the University

of

Southern California, told Reuters Health.

 

To investigate the relationship between permanent hair dyes and

bladder

cancer, Dr. Gago-Dominguez and colleagues analyzed more than 1500

cases

of bladder cancer, 897 of which yielded information about hair dye

use.

Data on a similar number of adults who did not use permanent hair

dye

were used for comparison. The study findings will be published in

the

February, 2001 issue of the International Journal of Cancer.

 

After adjusting for cigarette smoking, the authors found that women

who

used permanent hair dye at least once a month were 2 times more

likely

to develop bladder cancer than women who did not use permanent hair

dye.

Women who reported regular long-term use of the hair dye for at

least 15

years were more than 3 times more likely to develop bladder cancer

than

non-users.

 

Hairstylists and barbers were 50% more likely to have bladder cancer

than those who did not have occupational exposure to hair dye. Those

who

were exposed to hair dye for at least 10 years were five times more

likely than the comparison group of unexposed individuals to develop

bladder cancer.

 

" Our novel observations are provocative and carry enormous public

health

implications, " Dr. Gago-Dominguez said. " It is [perhaps] a little

premature to make any recommendation about stopping the use of

permanent

hair dyes, " she acknowledged. " However, this is one of the largest

and

most comprehensive studies ever conducted on the issue and we think

our

results should not be ignored. "

 

Editor's Note: Please note that the study was limited to bladder

cancers

leaving the real possibility that hair dyes may be implicated in

additional forms of cancer and other health problems

 

http://www.greatestherbsonearth.com/articles/bladder_cancer.htm