title: Male pattern baldness in relation to prostate cancer risks: an analysis in the VITamins and lifestyle (VITAL) cohort study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Male pattern baldness and prostate cancer may share common pathophysiological mechanisms in terms of advancing age, heritability, and endogenous hormones. Results from previous epidemiologic studies are inconsistent. Therefore, we investigated the association of prostate cancer risks with male pattern baldness at age 30 years, age 45 years, and baseline (median age = 60.5 years) in the VITamins And Lifestyle (VITAL) cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  We included 32,583 men who were aged 50-76 years and without prior cancer diagnosis (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) at the start of follow-up. First primary incident prostate cancers were ascertained via linkage to the western Washington Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards regressions with adjustment for potential confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During follow-up (median = 9 years), 2,306 incident prostate cancers were diagnosed. Male pattern baldness at age 30 years, age 45 years, and baseline were not statistically significantly associated with overall or subtypes of prostate cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study did not provide support for the hypothesis that male pattern baldness may be a marker for subsequent prostate cancer. Previous evidence indicates that a distinct class of frontal with vertex balding may be associated with increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer, but all such balding classes were captured as a single exposure category by the VITAL cohort questionnaire. Prostate 75:415-423, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Maryland; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia.
authors.forename: Cindy Ke
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Alyson J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Littman
authors.forename: Paul H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: Heather J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: Sean D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Cleary
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Cook
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000505:Alopecia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012306:Risk; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: androgen; cohort study; male pattern baldness; prostate cancer