Evaluation of DNA Variants Associated with Androgenetic Alopecia and Their Potential to Predict Male Pattern Baldness

This study evaluated the potential of DNA variants to predict male pattern baldness (MPB) and identified multiple genetic loci with small individual effects that contribute to the overall risk of developing MPB. The study found that individuals carrying seven or more MPB risk alleles are significantly more susceptible to MPB, and a genotype risk score calculated from the combined weighted number of risk alleles for these loci shows males with the highest genotype scores have a three-fold increased MPB risk. The study also developed a 20-SNP prediction model that achieved an overall correct prediction rate of 88.5% for 65% threshold, with the highest level of correct predictions recorded for males with Norwood-Hamilton V-VII grades of baldness. The study suggests that MPB is a heterogeneous phenotype and early onset and later onset alopecia could have different genetic backgrounds.