Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren Bogelbaum. Here, With all the unknowns that exist around
Speaker 1: breast cancer and most cancers for that matter, it's generally
Speaker 1: safe to say that the disease doesn't result from any
Speaker 1: single behavior, food, habit, or action. A complex combination of
Speaker 1: genetic and environmental factors contributes to the development of breast
Speaker 1: cancer in certain individuals, and scientists continue to seek out
Speaker 1: answers around which factors could be controlled, monitored, or even eliminated. Now,
Speaker 1: a study from researchers at the National Institutes of Health
Speaker 1: or NIH suggests that permanent hair dye maybe one of
Speaker 1: those factors that increases the risk of breast cancer and
Speaker 1: should receive further examination. The study, published online in December
Speaker 1: of twenty nineteen and the International Journal of Cancer, details
Speaker 1: how scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,
Speaker 1: part of the ni H, discovered that regular use of
Speaker 1: permanent hair dye was to an overall nine increase in
Speaker 1: breast cancer risk. The statistics were especially significant in African
Speaker 1: American women. Those who used permanent dies every five to
Speaker 1: eight weeks or more frequently had a sixty higher risk
Speaker 1: of breast cancer compared with white women, who had an
Speaker 1: eight percent increased risk. Semi permanent and temporary dies didn't
Speaker 1: seem to have this effect. Neither was found to increase
Speaker 1: risk of breast cancer. For the NIH study, researchers used
Speaker 1: data from forty six thousand, seven hundred and nine women
Speaker 1: who participated in the Sister Study, which included more than
Speaker 1: fifty thou women across the United States in Puerto Rico
Speaker 1: from two thousand three to two thousand nine. The participants
Speaker 1: of the Sister Study were all between the ages of
Speaker 1: thirty five and seventy four, and each had a sister
Speaker 1: who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The idea is
Speaker 1: that because sisters typically share the same environment, genes, and experiences,
Speaker 1: researchers may stand a better chance at pinpointing risk factors
Speaker 1: and developing effective can through prevention strategies. But permanent hair
Speaker 1: dye was only part of the equation. Researchers also found
Speaker 1: that chemical hair straighteners were associated with an increased risk
Speaker 1: of breast cancer. The data showed that women who used
Speaker 1: hair straighteners every five to eight weeks or more frequently
Speaker 1: were about more likely to develop breast cancer. Straighteners were
Speaker 1: used much more frequently among the African American participants, but
Speaker 1: the association between the product and increased breast cancer risk
Speaker 1: was similar in both African American and white women. So
Speaker 1: does this mean permanent hair dye and chemical hair straighteners
Speaker 1: should be strictly banned from regular use. Researchers aren't sure.
Speaker 1: Human bodies are complicated, and further investigation is necessary to
Speaker 1: replicate the results and hopefully explain what caused those results.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, keep in mind that cancers usually can't
Speaker 1: be explained by the involvement of any single factor. In
Speaker 1: other words, don't panic, but anyone concerned about their breast
Speaker 1: cancer risk may want to reevaluate their cosmetic routines. Today's
Speaker 1: episode was written by Michelle Konstantinovski and produced by Tyler Clang.
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart Radio's How
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Speaker 1: health related topics, visit our home planet, how stuff Works
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