title: Androgenetic alopecia is associated with increased arterial stiffness in asymptomatic young adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Association of androgenetic alopecia (AGA) with increased incidence of hypertension, a strong risk factor for coronary artery disease, has been suggested. However, there are no data on arterial stiffness measures of asymptomatic young adults with AGA.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  In this study, we aimed to investigate the association of the AGA with arterial stiffness assessed by cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), in asymptomatic young men.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 162 asymptomatic men aged between 18 and 45 years were consecutively enrolled to the study. Subjects were considered to have AGA if they have ≥3 grade vertex alopecia according to Hamilton-Norwood scale. Arterial stiffness was assessed by CAVI and defined as abnormal if CAVI is ≥8.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Frequency of abnormal CAVI was higher in patients with AGA (29.3% vs. 10.0%, P = 0.003). Subjects with AGA had higher mean CAVI than subjects without AGA (7.56 ± 0.93 vs. 7.15 ± 0.79, P = 0.004). Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated that presence of AGA (OR, 5.6; 95% CI, 1.7-20.0, P = 0.006), age (OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 1.0-1.2, P = 0.03) and diastolic blood pressure (OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 1.0-1.3, P = 0.005) were independently associated with abnormal CAVI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We concluded that, AGA might be an indicator of arterial stiffness in asymptomatic young adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Ahi Evren Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Trabzon, Turkey.
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Agac
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bektas
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Korkmaz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cetin
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Erkan
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gurbak
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hatem
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Celik
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000505:Alopecia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases; D001794:Blood Pressure; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059289:Vascular Stiffness / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult