title: Higher body mass index is associated with greater severity of alopecia in men with male-pattern androgenetic alopecia in Taiwan: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obesity is a risk factor for multiple health problems, but its association with androgenetic alopecia (AGA) remains controversial.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We sought to determine the association between body mass index (BMI) and alopecia severity in men with AGA and early-onset AGA.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted. The medical charts and photographs of men with a clinical diagnosis of AGA were reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 189 men were enrolled with a mean age of 30.8 years. In male-pattern AGA (n = 142), men with severe alopecia (grade V-VII) had higher BMI than those with mild to moderate alopecia (grade I-IV) (25.1 vs 22.8 kg/m(2), P = .01). After multivariate adjustments, the risk for severe alopecia was higher in the overweight or obese (BMI ≥24 kg/m(2)) subjects with male-pattern AGA (odds ratio 3.52, P < .01). In early-onset male-pattern AGA (n = 46), the risk for having severe alopecia was also higher in the overweight or obese subjects (odds ratio 4.97, P = .03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parameters used to evaluate obesity were limited because of the retrospective nature of the study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Higher BMI was significantly associated with greater severity of hair loss in men with male-pattern AGA, especially in those with early-onset AGA.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Dermatology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; International Research Center of Wound Repair and Regeneration, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chao-Chun
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Fu-Nien
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Li-Yu
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Dermatology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; International Research Center of Wound Repair and Regeneration, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chao-Kai
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. Electronic address: hmsheu@mail.ncku.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Hamm-Ming
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Sheu
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Technische Universität München, Germany. Electronic address: wenchieh.chen@lrz.tum.de.
authors.forename: WenChieh
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000505:Alopecia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: androgenetic alopecia; body mass index; early onset; female-pattern hair loss; male-pattern baldness; obesity