Home repair increases the risk of cancer in women

The Australian Journal of Medicine cites research by scientists in the country, suggesting that home repairs have a negative impact on women's health with increased mortality rates for women due to increased asbestos-related cancers. high.

The research team at the University of Western Australia found that exposure to building materials containing toxic asbestos during repair and upgrading of houses is the main cause of malignant tumor disease. calculation (MM) in women.

Although the proportion of men diagnosed with deadly diseases due to exposure to asbestos- containing construction materials is still higher than women, but the number of female cases with these diseases has increased significantly. much over the past decade.

The percentage of women with MM in Australia after home repair has increased from 5% of MM cases in the 1990s to more than 35% between 2005 and 2008.

This rate of increase for men is from 3% to more than 8%.

Scientists studied all cases diagnosed with MM in Western Australia from 1960 to 2008 and found that there were 1,631 cases of MM (including 1,408 males and 223 females), including 55 male patients and 32 female patients related to housing repair and upgrading activities.

Of these, 1,562 people died.

The main reason that men are infected with MM is due to exposure to asbestos during their work, especially in factories and mines.

Dr. Peter Franklin said that the increase in the percentage of women infected with MM was due to the inhalation of toxic asbestos particles in the process of repairing houses , even some women just passed or helped keep asbestos sheets for other people to cut or asbestos sheets.

The team discovered the first case of MM related home repair in 1981, more than two decades before Australia issued a ban on the use of all types of asbestos.

Lead researcher, Nola Olsen, said the number of MM patients due to home repairs will continue to increase as many of Australia's old residential quarters are still made of asbestos materials, along with the fact that home repairs are self-repairing. is becoming more and more popular in this country.

"It is still possible to find asbestos-containing materials such as asbestos roofing sheets in many houses, especially old houses and old fences. Our research shows that exposure to asbestos is a problem," she said. At home, at a time when these asbestos-containing products still exist legally and people are less aware of health risks, unfortunately, catastrophic consequences exist for some people. "

Asbestos becomes toxic to human health when it becomes small particles that float in the air and inhale into the lungs, increasing the risk of cancer.

An estimated 18,000 Australians will die from MM by 2020.