Male baldness Vs Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)

Male baldness linked to risk of coronary heart disease, research claims

Men who have lost most of their hair are 32% more likely to develop heart trouble compared with full-headed males, but however only those with hair loss on top of their heads, and not at the front, are affected, new research suggests.

"Researchers in Japan who examined six previous studies from Europe and America of the link between baldness and CHD, comprising 36,990 men, found that five of the studies confirmed an association." TheGuardian

This was a of meta-analysis of observational studies that estimated the association between male pattern baldness (or androgenetic alopecia) and coronary heart disease (CHD). The authors report that several studies have identified an association between these two factors, and this research sought to combine the results from multiple studies to establish the overall risk.

CHD is the most common cause of death among men in the UK. In CHD the arteries that pump blood to the heart become narrow. This narrowing occurs when fatty material builds up within the artery walls. If the arteries become too narrow, the heart does not receive enough oxygen-rich blood, which causes chest pain known as angina. This narrowing can escalate to the point that the artery is blocked, which can cause a heart attack, where the lack of oxygen-rich blood causes permanent damage to the heart.

As this was a meta-analysis of observational studies, it can only provide information on the association between baldness and CHD, and cannot say why they are associated or if one causes the other.

This analysis took into account (controlled for) some known risk factors for CHD, including: 

• age
• smoking status
• family history of the condition

• Most importantly, baldness is not something you can do much about, even if the results of this meta-analysis are confirmed. Making lifestyle changes is a more effective way of reducing risk of CHD. These include:

  • quitting smoking if you smoke
  • losing weight if you are overweight or obese
  • increasing the amount of physical activity you do