Use of permanent hair dyes and bladder‐cancer risk

• Published in: International journal of cancer 2001-02, Vol.91 (4), p.575-579
• Main Authors: Gago‐Dominguez, Manuela, Castelao, J. Esteban, Yuan, Jian‐Min, Yu, Mimi C., Ross, Ronald K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; barbers; Biological and medical sciences; bladder cancer; Case-Control Studies; case‐control study; Female; hair dyes; Hair Dyes - adverse effects; hairdressers; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases; Occupational Exposure; permanent hair dyes; Sex Factors; Smoking; Tumors of the urinary system; urinary bladder; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - epidemiology; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - etiology; Urinary tract. Prostate gland; USA, California, Los Angeles
• ISSN: 0020-7136; 1097-0215
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0215(200002)9999:9999<::AID-IJC1092>3.0.CO;2-S

A population‐based case‐control study was conducted in Los Angeles, California, which involved 1,514 incident cases of bladder cancer and an equal number of age‐, sex‐ and ethnicity‐matched controls. Information on personal use of hair dyes was obtained from 897 cases and their matched controls. After adjustment for cigarette smoking, a major risk factor for bladder cancer, women who used permanent hair dyes at least once a month experienced a 2.1‐fold risk of bladder cancer relative to non‐users (p for trend = 0.04). Risk increased to 3.3 (95% CI = 1.3–8.4) among regular (at least monthly) users of 15 or more years. Occupational exposure to hair dyes was associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer in this study. Subjects who worked for 10 or more years as hairdressers or barbers experienced a 5‐fold (95% CI = 1.3–19.2) increase in risk compared to individuals not exposed. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.