Hair Care Product Use Among Women Of Color
Condition: Breast Cancer; Pregnancy Related; Exposure During Pregnancy
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of this study is to reduce use of personal care products that contain endocrine
      disrupting chemicals among women. For this pilot intervention, the investigators focus on the
      hair care product class of personal care products, the reduction in use of
      phthalate-containing Hair Care Products (HCPs) and use among pregnant Women of Color (WOC).
    

Detailed description: 
      Endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDC) disrupt reproductive development and increase cancer risk
      through their ability to have a direct, indirect, or interactive action on cellular processes
      within the mammary tissues. EDCs may have the most influence during periods of dynamic
      structural and functional changes in the mammary glands, such as during pregnancy and the
      postpartum windows. Hair care products (HCPs) are a class of personal care products (PCPs)
      that contain EDCs; there are stark differences in HCP use by race. Differences in hair
      texture may explain differences in use. Nevertheless, of major concern, clinical,
      epidemiological, and laboratory studies have suggested HCPs are associated with earlier
      pubertal events, where the timing of pubertal maturation is an established risk factor for
      breast cancer (BC) risk. Additional studies have shown that compared to infrequent users,
      women classified as moderate or frequent users of PCPs had a 10-15% higher BC risk, dark hair
      dye is associated with a 52-72% increased BC risk, a history of chemical relaxer or
      straightener use is associated with a 64-74% increase in BC risk, and in 454 Mexican women
      (233 cases) urinary concentrations of monoethyl phthalate (MEP) were positively associated
      with BC, with stronger associations observed for pre-menopausal women. Evidence is emerging
      on EDC exposures across the pregnancy/postpartum periods. This is of importance because while
      pregnancy is associated with a long-term reduced risk of BC, it also confers an increased
      risk of BC for at least a decade after birth. EDC exposure during this period of increased
      risk could promote 'activation' effects for BC following pregnancy. In pregnant women, PCP
      use is correlated with higher concentrations of urinary phthalates, urinary metabolite
      concentrations vary by PCP type, and urinary metabolite concentrations differ by
      sociodemographic factors and across racial and ethnic populations.

      Unfortunately, few studies examine HCP-associated EDC exposure across the
      pregnancy/postpartum periods and no study has implemented a behavioral intervention. An
      intervention during pregnancy on EDC exposures and HCPs could have intergenerational health
      implications.

      An intervention to reduce phthalate exposures during the pregnancy/postpartum window would
      have both fetal/early and maternal health implications. First, behavioral changes during
      pregnancy could mitigate EDC exposures that exert in utero effects that may program long term
      risk for hormone-related disease for the child. Second, behavioral changes could reduce
      'activation' effects for BC following pregnancy. Pregnant women are primed to change
      behaviors for their babies' health.

      Therefore, the investigators propose an educational intervention for prenatal women of color
      in Northern Manhattan on HCPs and EDC exposures with an assessment of behavioral change via
      self-report and urinary phthalate concentrations.
    

Intervention name(s): Educational Intervention
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Deliver an educational intervention on harmful chemical exposures, such as phthalates, found in hair care products, developed by the research team using empirical evidence with key informant feedback. The intervention will cover phthalates 1) Exposure through HCPs 2) Potential adverse health outcomes for the mother and child 3) Ways to reduce exposure
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Other
Keywords: Hair products; Phthalates; Endocrine disrupting chemicals