Using bleach at least once a week increases the risk of COPD by a third, according to one study.
Bleach, toxic to the lungs? A study suggests it. Carried out on health professionals, who often use disinfectants, the work shows that regularly using bleach is associated with an increased risk of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). The study was carried out by Harvard University and Inserm, and presented at the congress of the European Society of Pulmonology held in Milan.
The authors reviewed data from 55,000 nurses in the United States. They scrutinized the use, for 30 years, of disinfectants by caregivers – bleach, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, quats. These products are used to clean surfaces and equipment. Bleach was one of the most widely used products.
Once a week
However, according to studies, people who regularly use these products have about a 33% risk of developing a serious pulmonary disease, COPD. This association was visible from one use per week.
The other products were also associated with an increased risk of COPD, ranging from 24 to 32%, according to the study. “The potential adverse effects of exposure to disinfectants on the risk of COPD have so far been evaluated very little, while two recent studies in European populations have shown that housekeepers have a higher risk of developing a disease. COPD ”, emphasize the authors.
Flu, bronchitis …
Previous work has also demonstrated a link between the use of disinfectants such as bleach, and increased risk of asthma and other respiratory problems. Flu, tonsillitis and bronchitis are more common in children whose parents clean the house with bleach, other work has shown.
COPD is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the lung characterized by permanent obstruction of the bronchi. Very dependent on smoking, it is an insidious installation and manifests itself by shortness of breath and a cough. Left untreated, it leads to respiratory failure and can be fatal.
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