Abstract
Objective
Hairdressing is associated with adverse effects on reproductive health. This research
investigates whether female hairdressers have increased risks of subfertility and
menstrual disorders.
Study design
Cross sectional study. Participants were all female hairdressers below 50 years of
age (n = 310) working in registered hairdressing salons in Alicante, Spain and a control group
comprising female shop assistants and office workers (n =310). Menstrual disorders were defined as any of five menstrual cycle characteristics:
short cycles, long cycles, irregular cycles, not experiencing a period for more than
6 weeks (missed period), and bleeding or spotting between periods (intermenstrual
bleeding). Subfertility problems were defined as reporting unprotected intercourse
over a period of more than 12 months without a pregnancy. The data were analysed by
logistic regression, calculating odds ratios (OR), crude and adjusted for age and
smoking status.
Results
Menstrual disorder prevalence among hairdressers over 12 months prior to the study
was 9.7%, with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.87(CI95% 0.99–3.91) compared with the control group. Furthermore, 5.5% of hairdressers reported
unprotected intercourse over a period of more than 12 months without a pregnancy,
adjusted OR of 2.17(CI95% 0.91–5.17).
Conclusions
Our results suggest an increased risk of subfertility and menstrual disorders in hairdressers
compared to a control group of office workers and shop assistants. More research is
needed in order to elucidate what particular occupational exposure may explain this
association. Nevertheless, it would seem that chemicals present in hairdressing salons
could be responsible.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 17, 2009
Accepted:
July 25,
2009
Received in revised form:
July 7,
2009
Received:
January 22,
2009
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
