Faculty Opinions Recommendation of Association of Androgenetic Alopecia with Mortality from Diabetes Mellitus and Heart Disease
TLDR People with moderate or severe hair loss are at a higher risk of dying from diabetes and heart disease.
In 2013, a population-based prospective cohort study in Taiwan involving 7252 subjects (4697 women over 30 years old and 2429 men over 40 years old) investigated the association between androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and mortality from diabetes mellitus (DM) and heart disease. The study, which had a response rate of 91.1%, found that during the 5-year follow-up period, 4.64% of the women and 8.48% of the men died. Among subjects aged 50 years or older, those with moderate or severe AGA had a higher mortality rate from DM and heart disease compared to those with normal or mild AGA. The adjusted hazard ratio for mortality from DM and moderate to severe AGA was 2.97, and for mortality from heart disease and moderate to severe AGA was 2.28. The study concluded that AGA could be a significant and easily diagnosed indicator of increased risk of mortality from DM and heart disease, regardless of sex.
