Losing your forehead and crown hair at age 45 could increase a man’s risk of developing an aggressive form of prostate cancer. This alopecia androgenic (general or partial hair loss) is thought to be a problem for male health as, like the prostate, the scalp develops sensitivity to androgens, male hormones such as testosterone. Androgenic alopecia is the result of “cumulative and lifetime exposure of the skin to testosterone,” said Dr. Charles Ryan, associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, interviewed by Fox news.
American researchers from the National Cancer Institute, authors of this new study, are careful not to conclude that there is a direct cause and effect link between baldness and prostate cancer. The observation they made by following 40,000 men aged 55 to 74 for three years nonetheless provides a first line of thought to be confirmed in future work.
During their investigation, Dr Michael Cook of the Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics Division asked the volunteers to inquire whether they had observed baldness from the age of 45 and where precisely. About 18% of the panel recalled having encountered this hair problem.
Over the three years of follow-up, 1,138 prostate cancers were diagnosed (on average at 72 years), more than half of which were in an aggressive form. It appeared that the most affected by it were bald men at the level of the forehead and the top of the head at the age of 45 years. They were 40% more at risk than men without baldness.
This is not the first time that men’s smooth skulls have captured the attention of researchers. In 2013, a study published in the BMJ Open concluded that the bald (and not just bald) would have 32% more risk suffer from coronary heart disease.
