Men who are losing hair are more likely to get a heart attack, especially if balding occurs on the crown of the head rather than the front, says a new study.
Coronary Heart Disease is a disease where there is a buildup of plaque in the walls of the coronary arteries. The buildup restricts oxygen flow to the heart. CHD is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S.
Researchers from Japan found some 850 studies that were published between 1950 and 2012. These studies had assessed the link between male pattern baldness and coronary heart disease. However, only six studies that satisfied the eligibility criteria of the present research were included.
Data analysis of three cohort studies from the sample showed that men who experienced balding from the crown were 32 percent more likely to develop coronary heart disease when compared to men who weren't losing hair. These cohort studies had tracked men for an average of 11 years.
Other studies on the subject found that younger men losing hair had 84 percent more chance of developing heart disease.
A recent study had shown that baldness was associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer in young African-American men.
To account for the difference in the studies, researchers graded men enrolled in the study on the basis of their baldness: none; frontal; crown-top (also called vertex) and combined.
Study results again showed that baldness was a strong predictor for underlying heart disease risk.
Men who were losing front hair and hair at the crown were 69 percent more likely to develop coronary artery diseases, while those with crown-top balding had 52 percent and frontal balding had 22 percent chance of having the condition, according to a news release.
Researchers aren't sure why baldness is strongly linked with health problems. Possible explanations for the finding include insulin resistance in men who are losing hair; having chronic inflammation or increased sensitivity to testosterone. All these factors are associated with accelerating coronary artery disease.
"[Our] findings suggest that vertex baldness is more closely associated with systemic atherosclerosis than with frontal baldness. Thus, cardiovascular risk factors should be reviewed carefully in men with vertex baldness, especially younger men" who should "probably be encouraged to improve their cardiovascular risk profile," study authors concluded.
The study is published in BMJ Open.