Monday, April 08, 2013

Male pattern baldness indicates heart disease risk


Male pattern baldness is linked to an increased risk of coronary heart disease, but only if it’s on the top/crown of the head. A receding hairline is not linked to an increased risk. The researchers from University of Tokyo trawled the Medline and the Cochrane Library databases for research published on male pattern baldness and coronary heart disease, and came up with 850 possible studies, published between 1950 and 2012. Analysis of the findings from these showed that men who had lost most of their hair were a third more likely (32 percent) to develop coronary artery disease than their peers who retained a full head of hair. It showed that balding men were 70 percent more likely to have heart disease and those in younger age groups were 84 percent more likely to do so.
Extensive vertex baldness boosted the risk by 48 percent, moderate vertex baldness by 36 percent and mild vertex baldness by 18 percent. By contrast, a receding hairline made very little difference to risk. The study is published in the online journal BMJ Open.
Male pattern baldness is characterized by hair receding from the lateral sides of the forehead (known as a “receding hairline”) and/or a thinning crown (balding to the area known as the ‘vertex’). Both become more pronounced until they eventually meet, leaving a horseshoe-shaped ring of hair around the back of the head.Male pattern baldness is linked to an increased risk of coronary heart disease, but only if it’s on the top/crown of the head. A receding hairline is not linked to an increased risk. The researchers from University of Tokyo trawled the Medline and the Cochrane Library databases for research published on male pattern baldness and coronary heart disease, and came up with 850 possible studies, published between 1950 and 2012. Analysis of the findings from these showed that men who had lost most of their hair were a third more likely (32 percent) to develop coronary artery disease than their peers who retained a full head of hair. It showed that balding men were 70 percent more likely to have heart disease and those in younger age groups were 84 percent more likely to do so.
Extensive vertex baldness boosted the risk by 48 percent, moderate vertex baldness by 36 percent and mild vertex baldness by 18 percent. By contrast, a receding hairline made very little difference to risk. The study is published in the online journal BMJ Open.
Male pattern baldness is characterized by hair receding from the lateral sides of the forehead (known as a “receding hairline”) and/or a thinning crown (balding to the area known as the ‘vertex’). Both become more pronounced until they eventually meet, leaving a horseshoe-shaped ring of hair around the back of the head.
Comment: Another 'reason' for men to avoid going bald. I wonder if getting a hair transplant will help reduce the risk :) since there appears to be precious little that is likely to help otherwise !

No comments: