Can drinking more water prevent bladder cancer? Are women who often hold their urine more likely to get bladder cancer?

Drinking more water is one of the ways to reduce the risk of bladder cancer, but this trick fails for Chinese women? Recently, an epidemiological survey concluded that unlike men who can prevent bladder cancer by drinking more water, women who drink more water will increase their risk of bladder cancer. The reason is that Chinese women generally have difficulty using the toilet in public places. "Many women would rather hold their urine because they are afraid of waiting in long lines to use the toilet, which will increase the risk of bladder cancer in the long run."

Bladder cancer ranks seventh among male tumors

Among male cancer patients worldwide, the incidence of bladder cancer ranks 7th and 18th among female patients. Every year, 10.1 males and 2.7 females are diagnosed with bladder cancer for every 100,000 people. The incidence in China is lower than that in developed countries in Europe and America, with the annual incidence rates for males and females being 3.8 and 1.4 per 100,000, respectively.

Previous studies generally believe that the risk factors for bladder cancer in the Caucasian population also have similar effects in the Chinese population. "But so far, there has been no large-scale epidemiological survey to confirm this." For this reason, Zhong Weide initiated this study to try to explore the risk factors associated with bladder cancer in Chinese people.

Does drinking more water increase the risk of bladder cancer in women?

Drinking more water is an effective way to prevent bladder cancer, and the survey also found that this method is indeed effective for men. However, for women, drinking more water not only does not prevent bladder cancer, but it increases the risk of bladder cancer by 3.1 times. Experts analyzed that this may be related to the difficulty of Chinese urban women to use the toilet in public places.

Investigators found that the women interviewed generally reported that they often held back their urine because it was difficult to find a toilet in a public place or because they had to wait too long to use the toilet. Zhong Weide said that holding back urine frequently would stretch and damage the bladder fibers. Urine may also contain some toxic components, which would also increase the chance of developing tumors. For this reason, experts called on city managers to consider the special needs of women when planning and designing toilets, and to tilt the ratio of male and female toilets towards women as much as possible.

Wash leafy vegetables thoroughly before eating them

The survey also found that eating more vegetables and fruits is good for preventing bladder cancer, but there is one type of vegetable that is an exception, that is, the leafy vegetables that many Guangdong people love to eat, including Chinese cabbage, lettuce, and kohlrabi.

This is because these vegetables have large leaves, which are more likely to retain and absorb pesticides and insecticides. Long-term intake by the human body may be harmful to health. Therefore, experts recommend that when eating large leafy vegetables, you must soak them for a longer time and rinse them several times to reduce the residue of chemical substances.

Doctors warn that smoking is also a high-risk factor for bladder cancer.