Talcum powder is one of the most essential beauty products ever invented, and every woman can attest to that. Aside from it being used as an oil controller in the face, this product can also be used to other parts of the body to absorb moisture and reduce friction. Since moisture and friction are limited, applying this product to the skin can help prevent fungal infections, help cure some skin problems, and control the production of sweat, as enumerated by Vikram Kamboj.
Because of how effective this product can be, some females are using talcum powder even in their external genitalia to avoid odor, moisture, and friction. Unfortunately, claims say how this product can cause ovarian cancer.
But what does science say? Is there any link between ovarian cancer and the use of talcum powder? Researchers led by Katie O'Brien of the Chronic Disease Epidemiology Group at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences dig deep into this controversial topic.
Though there have already been studies that address such a situation before, O'Brien says this study was able to focus on some "potential limitations" that previous studies weren't able to. The study was posted in the journal JAMA.
In the recent study, the researchers chose to include four prospective cohort studies as these also focused on the kind of genital powder use. These include the Nurses' Health Study II, the Nurses' Health Study, the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study, and Sister Study.
About 250,577 data of different women were included in the research. Among the participants, 39% have been recorded using the powder in their external genitalia, and 2,168 developed cancer during the study period.
After observing and analyzing the gathered data, the researchers found no significant link between the use of powder to the genital area and the risks of getting ovarian cancer. But though they found no connection between the two, authors still recommend their study to be "considered only exploratory and hypothesis-generating".
Researchers also found how the powder can cause inflammation and irritation to women who have intact reproductive tracts, as reported by the Medical News Today. For those whose wombs have been removed or have blocked fallopian tubes, on the other hand, the powder won't have direct access to the ovaries.
"Despite being the largest study to date, it was not big enough to detect a small change in risk of ovarian cancer, which is a fairly rare cancer", claims O'Brien. Given this reason, experts are still looking forward to a more specific study focusing on women who have intact reproductive tracts, and the duration, exposure and timing of the powder in their genitals.
