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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on July 16, 2009
Human Reproduction 2009 24(10):2636-2641; doi:10.1093/humrep/dep252
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Premature ovarian failure among hairdressers

L. Gallicchio1, S. Miller2, T. Greene2, H. Zacur2 and JA. Flaws3,4

1 The Prevention and Research Center, The Weinberg Center for Women's Health & Medicine, Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore, MD 21202, USA 2 Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA 3 Department of Veterinary Biosciences, University of Illinois, 2001 S. Lincoln Ave, Urbana, IL 61802, USA

4 Correspondence address. Tel: +1-217-333-7933; Fax: +1-217-244-1652; E-mail: jflaws{at}illinois.edu

BACKGROUND: Hairdressers constitute a major occupational group of female workers who are exposed to chemicals that cause reproductive abnormalities in animal models. The purpose of this study was to examine whether hairdressers are at increased risk of premature ovarian failure (POF) compared with women of similar age in other occupations.

METHODS: This study analyzed data from a population-based sample of 443 hairdressers and 508 women in other occupations, who responded to a mailed survey. POF was assessed in all eligible participants by self-report of a doctor's diagnosis.

RESULTS: Among 443 hairdressers and 508 women in other occupations, 14 (3.2%) and 7 (1.4%) developed POF, respectively. A non-significant increase in the risk of POF was observed among hairdressers compared with non-hairdressers (adjusted relative risk (RR) 1.90; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.76, 4.72). When limited to Caucasian women only (~85% of respondents), the increased risk was statistically significant (RR 3.24; 95% CI 1.06, 9.91). Among Caucasian women of 40–55 years of age, hairdressers were more than five times as likely to report POF compared with non-hairdressers (RR 5.58; 95% CI 1.24, 25.22).

CONCLUSIONS: Hairdressers may be at increased risk for POF compared with women employed in other occupations.

Key words: chemical exposure/cosmetologists/hairdressers/premature ovarian failure/reproduction

Submitted on April 8, 2009; resubmitted on June 12, 2009; accepted on June 18, 2009.


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