HAIRY CONCERN Baldness increases heart disease risk

London: A British study has for the first time linked male pattern baldness with an increased risk of coronary heart disease.      The study found that men who had lost most of their hair were a third more likely (32%) to develop coronary artery disease than their peers who retained a full head of hair.      The risk has been found to be greatest for those with a thinning crown rather than receding hairline, it says, with chances of heart disease highest among those for who are balding in on the top/crown of the head rather than at the front.      The study published in the British Medical Journal trawled the Medline and the Cochrane Library databases for research published on male pattern baldness and coronary heart disease and came up with six studies which met all the eligibility criteria and so were included in the analysis. All had been published between 1993 and 2008, and involved just under 40,000 men.      Three of the studies were cohort studies — meaning that the health of balding men was tracked for at least 11 years. The analysis was confined to men under the age of 55 years but a similar pattern emerged. Bald or extensively balding men were 44% more likely to develop coronary artery disease.      Analysis of the other three studies showed balding men were 70% more likely to have heart disease and those in younger age groups were 84% more likely to do so.      Three studies assessed the degree of baldness using a validated scale (Hamilton scale). Analysis indicated that the risk of coronary artery disease depended on baldness severity but only if this was on the top/crown of the head or vertex.      Explanations for the reasons behind the association vary but include the possibility that baldness may indicate insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes; a state of chronic inflammation; or increased sensitivity to testosterone, all of which are involved directly or indirectly in promoting heart disease.