A NEW study conducted by U.S. government scientists has found that women who use permanent hair dye and chemical straighteners may be at an increased risk of developing breast cancer than those who don’t use such products.

“Researchers have been studying the possible link between hair dye and cancer for a long time, but results have been inconsistent,” Alexandra White, Ph.D., a study author and head of the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Environment and Cancer Epidemiology Group, said in a press release. “In our study, we see a higher breast cancer risk associated with hair dye use, and the effect is stronger in African-American women, particularly those who are frequent users.”

Weight, diet, exercise, alcohol consumption, smoking, exposure to estrogen, oral contraceptive use and stress and anxiety have all been identified as risk factors for breast cancer that a patient can control, according to BreastCancer.org. Those who have inherited the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation are at a higher risk.(SD-Agencies)