Baldness and early graying of hair could be signs of a high risk of heart disease before age 40 for men, according to the results of a study presented at the 69th Annual Conference of the Cardiological Society of India in Kolkata.
Researchers at the UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Center in Ahmedabad, India, conducted a study with 790 men under the age of 40 with coronary artery disease (heart disease) and 1,270 healthy men of the same age, as a control group. For the study, the scientists analyzed the degree of baldness and whitening of the participants’ hair. They linked these results with the severity of the angiographic lesions, indicative of coronary artery disease.
Baldness and white hair: risk of heart disease
Study results revealed that young men with coronary heart disease had gray hair prematurely (50% vs. 30%) and also had a higher rate of baldness (49% vs. 27%) than men. of the control group.
Researchers calculated that participants with alopecia were 5.6 times more likely to live with coronary heart disease. For men with prematurely bleached hair, the figure is 5.3.
The researchers also point out that men obese are 4.1 times more likely to suffer prematurely from heart disease.
“Men with premature gray hair and androgenic alopecia should benefit from better coronary follow-up, as well as advice on how to change their habits: healthy diet, exercise and stress management. Our study revealed an association, but the existence of a causal relationship still needs to be proven before recommending statins to men suffering from baldness or premature greying”.
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