22 years
Does constantly wearing a bra (even during sleep) increase the chances of getting breast cancer?
Apr 28, 2015
First off: the concept that lymphatic compression by bras might cause breast cancer is scientifically unsound and unfounded.
There is however one scientifically-conducted epidemiologic study that looked into the possibility of a link between bra use and breast cancer. The results of this study suggested that breast cancer might be less common among women who do not wear bras than among women who do. However, the risk of breast cancer did not differ significantly between the two groups. Even the researchers who conducted this study admitted that they were not certain that this correlation is sound. They added that should a connection truly exit, it would most likely have occurred indirectly, knowing that women who are obese or have larger breasts are less likely to stay braless. Obesity is recognized by many studies as a risk factor for breast cancer and other types of cancer, and having large breasts has been suggested in some studies as increasing the risk for breast cancer in young women who are not overweight.
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There is simply no evidence of any risk of getting breast cancer because of wearing a bra.
I reviewed the topic and the only recent epidemiological study that focused on this question is a population-based analysis of women with breast cancer versus women without breast cancer in Seattle USA.
The results did not show any association between wearing a bra and an increased breast cancer risk. In addition it is mentioned that: "no aspect of bra wearing, including bra cup size, recency, average number of hours/day worn, wearing a bra with an under wire, or age first began regularly wearing a bra, was associated with risks."
So no worries.
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