Coronary
artery disease
There has been an indication that bald men
have a higher risk for coronary artery disease
than men who are not bald. Several documented
studies carried out by researchers thereafter
have revealed that there is a possible clinical
association between pattern baldness
and coronary artery disease (CAD) in men.
However, the relationship between pattern baldness and coronary artery disease in men
is still a controversial issue.
- Lesko and colleagues documented a case-controlled
study of 655 men aged 21 to 54 admitted
to the hospital with their first myocardial
infarction
(heart attack). They were compared with
patients of similar age admitted for non-cardiac
conditions
who did not have a history of prior cardio-vascular
problems. The team observed that the vertex
(top of the head) but not frontal baldness
was associated with an increased risk of
myocardial infarction, which increased with
the extent
of vertex baldness. The age-adjusted relative
risk of a myocardial infarction was 1.3
for mild to moderate vertex baldness and
3.4 for
severe vertex baldness.
- In a 12-year follow-up of 11,674 men between
30 to 79 years of age, found that both vertex
and especially fronto-parietal baldness
was associated with increased risk of myocardial
infarction.(Schonhr et al)
- One of the largest studies during an
11-year period showed an association between
severity
of baldness and coronary artery disease.
A retrospective cohort study of 19,112 male
physicians 40 - 84 years old who were free
of congestive heart disease at baseline
and
who completed a questionnaire visually matching
hair loss with pictorial representations
of baldness was carried out by these researchers.
It was found that men with male pattern
baldness
had an increased risk of coronary artery
disease (relative risk for frontal loss
1.09 and severe
vertex loss 1.36). (Lotufo et al.)
- Herrera and colleagues reported on 2017
men in the Framingham study who were assessed
in 1956 and 1962 for extent of baldness
and observed for 30 years for any cardiovascular
disease. The results showed that although
the extent of baldness was not correlated
with coronary artery disease, the amount
of
and progression of baldness was associated
with the occurrence of coronary artery disease.
- Although the study of Ford and colleagues
found baldness to be not associated with
an increased total rate of coronary artery
disease
incidence or mortality, in men younger than
age 55, severe baldness was positively associated
with coronary artery disease mortality and
somewhat less associated with incidence.
- In another study on heart disease risk
factors concluded that patients with fronto-occipital
baldness had on the average higher levels
of serum cholesterol and blood pressure
compared to participants of similar age
with no baldness.
(Trevisan et al)
Prostate cancer
It is not exactly clear if androgen is involved
or is a primary factor in prostate cancer
etiology. However, it can be seen that both
male pattern baldness and prostate cancer
are both androgen dependent in their processes.
Several studies have been conducted to establish
the relation of the two conditions, and it
has been suggested that the variability in
the 5aR-2 gene is the potential explanation
for the variability in prostate cancer and
male pattern baldness.
Conditions and Diseases Associated With Baldness
in Women
The association between pattern baldness
and coronary artery disease in men is popular
and has been well documented, however, there
are but few studies, if any, have focused
on this association in women. In women, instead
of the coronary artery disease, the association
in hair loss was with iron deficiency.
Another is Polycystic ovary syndrome. It
is a hormonal imbalance that can lead to irregular
menstruations, acne, excess body hair, and
weight gain. Women who have this syndrome
are more likely to develop androgenic alopecia.