The Silent Spring Institute in Newton studies the links between breast cancer and the environment. Today the group reported on research that suggests “cleaning product use contributes to increased breast cancer risk.” (Press release pdf here.)

The researchers admit to the limits of self-reported data and what they call "the influence of recall bias. Recall bias may influence higher odds ratios for product use among participants who believed that chemicals and pollutants contribute to breast cancer. Alternatively, the influence of experience on beliefs is another explanation, illustrated by the protective odds ratio for family history among women who do not believe heredity contributes “a lot.”

“Because exposure to chemicals from household cleaning products is a biologically plausible cause of breast cancer and avoidable, associations reported here should be further examined prospectively.”

Click here from more on the group’s Household Exposure Study.