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A certain type of heating, appreciated during long winter evenings, could harm women’s health and increase the risk of lung cancer. Update on this announcement.
At the end of October, temperatures are starting to drop. It’s the return of cozy blankets and evenings by the fireplace. The problem ? According to a new American study, published in the journal Environment International, heating with wood affects women’s health. Explanations.
+ 43% risk of lung cancer
To arrive at this conclusion, scientists analyzed data from 50,226 women living in the United States; whose sisters had breast cancer.
All candidates had to specify the type of heating used, as well as the frequency of use. Cox regression (a statistical survival model that studies the time until an event occurs) was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios and confidence intervals (95%) for the association between indoor fireplace/wood stove use and lung cancer incidence.
The researchers then observed the participants’ medical records.
This is how they discovered that frequent use of wood heating led to a higher risk of lung cancer.
More precisely, the use of a fireplace or a domestic wood stove (emitter of smoke and fine particles, which cause impairment of respiratory health editor’s note) increased the risk of lung cancer by 43% in women compared to those who used another type of heating.
People who used wood stoves, who used them for more than one month per year, also had a 68% greater risk of lung cancer than others.
But scientists say that “Even casual wood burning indoors can contribute to lung cancer“.
As for heating with gas or propane in stoves and fireplaces, it was also found to be carcinogenic, but its effect was less compared to heating with wood.
Results, which allow the research team to better understand the risk factors for lung cancer in women (the leading cause of cancer death among American women, editor’s note).
“Our study provides evidence that even occasional indoor wood burning in stoves and fireplaces may contribute to lung cancer in populations where indoor wood burning is not the predominant fuel source for cooking or heating. inside the house“, says Suril Mehta, epidemiologist at the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and lead author of the study.
Wood heating: beware of toxic substances!
If the candidates in the study were found to be at risk of lung cancer, it is because chimney fires release many harmful particles.
Smoke from the use of wood burning appliances may indeed contain substances such as “benzene, 1,3-butadiene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other hazardous air pollutants“, explains Suril Mehta. Substances, “known or suspected to cause lung cancer“, concludes the researcher.