Red Hair - What Medical Research Says about It
Hair Color May Affect Your Pain Tolerance and Cancer Risk
Naturally red hair has its perks, but unfortunately the genes associated with it (particular variants of melanocortin receptor-1 gene or MC1R) also seem to be connected with increased risk of some health problems, especially in women.
Red Hair and Skin Cancer Risk
People with red hair usually have a fair skin that does not tolerate sunlight well. Thus it may not be surprising that red hair seems to increase the risk for both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. Redheads should be especially keen on protecting their skin and looking out for signs of possible malignancies.
Red Hair and Autoimmunity
It has been suggested that redheads are more likely to suffer from some autoimmune conditions, such as multiple sclerosis and endometriosis (a condition where uterine lining grows outside of the uterus, causing pain and sometimes infertility), but there is no strong evidence of this link.
One study found infertile red-haired women significantly more likely to have endometriosis compared to infertile women of other hair colors, but as there were only 12 redheads, this could have been merely coincidental. Another study found that multiple sclerosis may be more common in red-headed women, but similar association was not found for men.
Red Hair and Surgical Operations
Red hair seems to be associated with several factors that may complicate surgical operations: lower pain tolerance, lower efficacy of local anaesthesia and some sedatives as well as possibly increased risk of bleeding.
A 2005 study found that pain perception and pain tolerance were otherwise similar in women with red hair and women with dark hair, but redheads were more sensitive to cold pain and heat pain. Subcutaneous lidocaine (the local anaesthetic commonly used in dental operations) was significantly less effective in relieving pain in the redheads.
In one study the hypnotic drug midazolam caused significantly less sedation for red-headed volunteers compared to those with other hair colors. Midazolam is commonly used as a sedative before e.g. colonoscopy and dental operations, because it induces a degree of amnesia, reducing possible traumatic memories of the operation.
Redheads have been claimed to be more prone to bleeding complications in surgery compared to people with other hair colors. A 2006 study set out to find whether this is true. Interestingly redheads reported significantly more bruising, but no differences in laboratory testing for several factors associated with coagulation could be found compared to people with dark hair.
Future Red Hair Research
This is a relatively new area of research. It is possible that in the future new associations - either positive and negative - will be found between red hair and certain illnesses and conditions. For example, we don't know whether red hair could affect one's risk of diabetes, either increasing or decreasing it, because no one has yet studied it.
Red hair has also been associated with certain personality traits, but no one has yet come up with data either refuting or supporting the claims that redheads are more fierce, passionate or temperamental than people of other hair colors.
References
Raimondi S, Sera F, Gandini S, et al. MC1R variants, melanoma and red hair color phenotype: a meta-analysis. Int J Cancer. 2008 Jun 15;122(12):2753-60.
Woodworth SH, Singh M, Yussman MA, et al. A prospective study on the association between red hair color and endometriosis in infertile patients. Fertil Steril. 1995 Sep;64(3):651-2.
Dwyer T, van der Mei I, Ponsonby AL, et al. Melanocortin 1 receptor genotype, past environmental sun exposure, and risk of multiple sclerosis. Neurology. 2008 Aug 19;71(8):583-9.
Liem EB, Joiner TV, Tsueda K, et al. Increased sensitivity to thermal pain and reduced subcutaneous lidocaine efficacy in redheads. Anesthesiology. 2005 Mar;102(3):509-14.
Chua MV, Tsueda K, Doufas AG. Midazolam causes less sedation in volunteers with red hair. Can J Anaesth. 2004 Jan;51(1):25-30.
Liem EB, Hollensead SC, Joiner TV, et al. Women with red hair report a slightly increased rate of bruising but have normal coagulation tests. Anesth Analg. 2006 Jan;102(1):313-8.
See Also
Avoiding Cancer One Day at a Time
Red-haired woman
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