New Study Links
Relaxers To Fibroids
Scientist found rates of fibroids two-to-three times higher in Black women who used chemical relaxers.
A new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology has linked hair relaxers to uterine fibroids, as well as early puberty in young girls.
Scientists followed more than 23,000 pre-menopausal Black American women from 1997 to 2009 and found that the two- to three-times higher rate of fibroids among black women may be linked to chemical exposure through scalp lesions and burns resulting from relaxers.
Women who got their first menstrual period before the age of 10 were also more likely to have uterine fibroids, and early menstruation may result from hair products black girls are using, according to a separate study published in the Annals of Epidemiology last summer.
Three hundred African American, African Caribbean, Hispanic, and White women in New York City were studied. The women’s first menstrual period varied anywhere from age 8 to age 19, but African Americans, who were more likely to use straightening and relaxers hair oils, also reached menarche earlier than other racial/ethnic groups.
While so far, there is only an association rather than a cause and effect relationship between relaxers, fibroid tumors, and puberty, many experts have been quick to point out that the hair care industry isn’t regulated by the FDA, meaning that there's no definite way to fully know just how harmful standard Black hair care products really are.
Fibroids are tumors that grow in the uterus. They are benign, which means they are not cancerous, and are made up of muscle fibers. Fibroids can be as small as a pea and can grow as large as a melon. It is estimated that 20-50 percent of women have, or will have, fibroids at some time in in their lives. They are rare in women under the age of 20, most common in women in their 30s and 40s, and tend to shrink after the menopause.
For more information on fibroids and their risk factors, visit BlackDoctor.org.
__________________________
Study: Hair Relaxer
Linked To
Uterine Fibroids
12:33 PM Feb 24th, 2012
There may finally be a scientific reason why so many black women suffer from uterine fibroids.
A recent study in the American Journal of Epidemiology is linking hair relaxers to uterine fibroids.
[ALSO READ:
Scientists followed more than 23,000 pre-menopausal Black American women from 1997 to 2009 and found that the two- to three-times higher rate of fibroids among black women may be linked to chemical exposure through scalp lesions and burns resulting from relaxers.
The study also links hair relaxers to early puberty in young girls:
Women who got their first menstrual period before the age of 10 were also more likely to have uterine fibroids, and early menstruation may result from hair products black girls are using, according to a separate study published in the Annals of Epidemiology last summer.
Three hundred African American, African Caribbean, Hispanic, and White women in New York City were studied. The women’s first menstrual period varied anywhere from age 8 to age 19, but African Americans, who were more likely to use straightening and relaxers hair oils, also reached menarche earlier than other racial/ethnic group.
Just For Me may not be best for you.
Fibroids are tumors that grow in the uterus and its very likely that you have a friend or family member with them. Fibroids range in size and can be as small as a pea or as large as a melon. It has been estimated that 20 to 50% percent of women have, or will have, fibroids at some time in in their lives. They are most common in women in their 30s and 40s, and tend to shrink after the menopause. Adding insult to injury, hair relaxers are not regulated by the FDA so there's no telling what other damage it's doing to the body.
Ladies, it may be time to go natural.
>via: http://www.loop21.com/life/study-hair-relaxer-linked-uterine-fibroids