Accountants and hairdressers have a higher risk of ovarian cancer than other professions?

Since 2023, there has been a lot of information circulating on social media saying that some occupations have an increased risk of ovarian cancer, including accounting and hairdressing. What is the truth?

Hairdressers are at higher risk of ovarian cancer than other professions due to frequent exposure to chemicals and hair dust - Photo: ALAMY

Many news sites such as the Daily Mail and The Sun also published similar information, and listed other occupations such as beauticians, retail workers, and construction workers as being at higher risk of ovarian cancer.

The source of the above information comes from an observational study conducted by a scientific group at the University of Montreal (Canada), published in July 2023 in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine .

According to information posted on September 15 on the fact-checking site Snopes , the study used data from a group of women aged 18-79 living in Quebec, followed from 2011 to 2016 within the framework of the "Ovarian Cancer Prevention in Quebec" project.

The project aims to investigate factors that increase the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer - the most common type of ovarian cancer.

Results showed that after excluding other factors, some occupations were associated with a higher risk of disease, especially when working in that job for more than 10 years.

Accountants who have worked for more than 10 years and tailors and embroiderers have twice the risk of developing ovarian cancer; while hairdressers, barbers or beauticians have three times the risk.

Researchers say a sedentary lifestyle may be affecting the accountants, while hairdressers are regularly exposed to hundreds of chemicals such as formaldehyde (a classified carcinogen), hydrogen peroxide, cosmetic talc and hair dust.

In contrast, the team found that those working as nurses had a lower risk of the disease, and did not note an increased risk in the education or health care professions regardless of working hours.

However, scientists stress that more research is needed to clarify the role of occupational and environmental factors.

Experts warn that ovarian cancer often has no obvious symptoms, causing most patients to be diagnosed when the disease has metastasized.

Early signs may include early satiety, bloating, abdominal pain, frequent urination or digestive upset, and should be checked out if they last for three weeks or more.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ke-toan-tho-lam-toc-co-nguy-co-mac-ung-thu-buong-trung-cao-hon-nhung-nghe-khac-20250916100226074.htm