Menstrual disorders due to chemical exposure among hairdressers.

Menstrual disorders may be caused by chemical agents such as organic solvents. Hairdressers are exposed to a multitude of chemical agents suspected to influence the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis. To investigate the risk of hairdressers for menstrual disorders, female hairdressers were compared to a reference group of clothing saleswomen. Data collection was performed by use of a questionnaire. After excluding women using oral contraceptives, 194 women were available for data analysis. Significant associations were found for irregular cycles, oligomenorrhoea, long blood loss, heavy pains and long pains after confounding correction. No statistically significant association was found for the premenstrual syndrome. It is concluded that hairdressers might have an increased risk for menstrual disorders, but further studies are needed.