Prediction of Male-Pattern Baldness from Genotypes

The study conducted on 2,725 German and Dutch males aimed to predict the risk of male-pattern baldness (MPB) using genetic data. The researchers developed a logistic regression model with 25 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 12 genomic loci. They achieved an accuracy of 0.74 for predicting early-onset MPB with 14 SNPs and an accuracy of 0.69-0.71 for predicting normal MPB status in middle-aged and elderly individuals with 6-11 SNPs. The model indicated that 55.8% of the genetic liability for early-onset MPB could be attributed to common autosomal SNPs and 23.3% to X-chromosome SNPs, while for normal MPB status in elderly individuals, 42.4% was due to autosomal and 9.8% to X-chromosome SNPs. The study concluded that the prediction accuracy is not yet clinically optimal but is highly informative for a subset of the European population, potentially aiding in early intervention and forensic applications.