Many of the known causes of cancer are closely related to lifestyle. For some, small habits or behaviors that you may not have thought of can act as the seeds that cause cancer. Find out about unexpected causes that can cause cancer that have been discovered through research.
Sitting for a long time watching TV
One of the ways most people take a break is to sit on a sofa or chair and watch TV for a long time. However, there is research showing that this act of trying to take a break can cause cancer. A team of researchers from the University of Oxford and the International Agency for Research on Cancer followed up 500,000 British people for six years. As a result, 2,391 people out of 500,000 people had colorectal cancer, and men who watched TV for 4 hours or more had a 35% higher chance of developing colorectal cancer compared to men who did not. For women, it was 11% higher than those who watched less than four hours of television.
Another study found a link between long-time TV viewing and colorectal cancer. A research team from the Washington State University School of Medicine in the United States followed up 89,278 women for 22 years of whether they had been diagnosed with cancer and their lifestyle. The results showed that participants who sat and watched TV for two hours or more each day had a 70% higher risk of developing colorectal cancer. Watching more than an hour per day increased this risk by 12%.
The research team said, “If you sit for a long time, the secondary bile acids, a cancer-causing factor, stay in the intestine for a long time, and may increase the incidence of colorectal cancer by impairing glucose metabolism and causing vitamin D deficiency.”
lack of sun exposure
Since the corona virus, more and more people are working from home, and daily life is not allowed to go out as much as possible. In other words, it is not easy to see sunlight. However, if you don’t get enough sunlight or you don’t have enough time to be exposed to sunlight, you can get cancer.
A study from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) found that not getting enough sunlight could increase the risk of lung cancer. The researchers analyzed data from 111 countries and found that the countries with the least exposure to sunlight had the highest rates of lung cancer. These countries are located farthest from the equator.
Another study found that countries with more cloudy days have a higher incidence of colorectal cancer. A study published in the medical journal BMC found that low exposure to sunlight was associated with a higher incidence of colorectal cancer in all age groups. In particular, there was a clear correlation in the age group over 45 years of age.
Frequent perm & dye
Regardless of gender, they perm or dye their hair to preserve their individuality and to enhance their beauty. However, frequent perming and dyeing can be a cause of cancer. It can be fatal, especially for women. The National Institute of Environmental Health Research in the US surveyed 46,709 women aged 35 to 74 on how often they used hair dye and perm. They then studied the link between cancer development. The results showed that women who used hair dye regularly had a 9% higher risk of breast cancer than women who did not. In addition, women who used straightening hair straighteners at intervals of 5 to 8 weeks had a 30% higher risk of breast cancer than women who did not use straight perms.
Researchers at the University of Southern California have found that hair dye is more likely to cause bladder cancer. Hair stylists who used hair dye every day for 10 years or more were five times more likely to develop bladder cancer. The researchers believe that a substance called benzidine 2-naphthylamine (arylamide) in hair dye is responsible for bladder cancer. In fact, the National Cancer Institute in the United States has classified more than 5,000 chemicals in hair dye, some of which are carcinogenic.
gum disease
There are many people who have periodontal disease, which causes the gums to swell and bleed, but do not take care of it or neglect it. However, periodontal disease can be the seed of cancer. Recently, a research team led by Professor Han-Sang Kim of the Department of Oncology at Yonsei Cancer Hospital, Professor In-Kyung Jeong of the Department of Biomedical System Information at Yonsei University College of Medicine, and Professor Baek-Il Kim of the Department of Preventive Dentistry at Yonsei University College of Dentistry revealed that if you have periodontal disease, the risk of cancer increases by 13%.
Periodontal disease is caused by the increase of bacteria in the mouth, which causes toxic plaque and inflammation of the gums, which can lead to cancer. In fact, past studies have also found a link between periodontal disease and cancer.