Causal Relationship Between Gut Microbiota and Androgenetic Alopecia: A Mendelian Randomization Study
December 2024
in “
Medicine
”
TLDR Gut bacteria may affect hair loss risk.
This Mendelian randomization study, using data from 18,340 individuals, explores the causal relationship between gut microbiota and androgenetic alopecia (AGA). It identifies specific gut bacteria, such as Lachnospiraceae UCG008 and Oxalobacter, as being associated with a reduced risk of AGA, while Eubacterium rectale and Roseburia are linked to an increased risk. The study primarily uses the inverse variance weighting method, which shows significant results, though other methods did not, indicating some instability. The findings suggest that gut microbiota may influence AGA risk, supporting the "gut-testis axis" hypothesis, but further research is needed to confirm these results.