Risk Factors for Premature Hair Graying in Young Turkish Adults.
BACKGROUND
Premature hair graying (PHG) is a common condition resulting in loss of self-esteem. Studies investigating PHG risk factors for both sexes with a large number of patients are scarce. We sought to investigate the socioclinical risk factors for PHG in young Turkish men and women and the differences between the sexes.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted in 1,119 participants who answered a survey about PHG and some socioclinical characteristics between February and July 2015. The number of gray hairs, onset age of hair graying, and family history of PHG were asked about, as well as demographic characteristics, anthropometric measures, body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption, sports life, diet, medical history, educational status, occupation, marital status, monthly income, and Fitzpatrick skin type.


RESULTS
Of 1,119 participants, 315 (28.1%) had PHG and 804 did not. Maternal and paternal PHG, alcohol consumption, presence of chronic disease, educational status, hair loss, perceived stress scale (PSS) score, age, and height were significantly higher in subjects with PHG. Rates of maternal and paternal PHG were high in women with PHG, and the rate of paternal PHG was high in men with PHG. According to the multivariate ordinal regression analysis, PSS score, age, hair loss, and family history of PHG were correlated with the severity of PHG.


CONCLUSIONS
PHG is closely related to factors causing oxidative stress, such as emotional stress, alcohol consumption, and chronic diseases in genetically predisposed men and women.
Department of Dermatology, Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Training and Research Hospital, Mugla, Turkey.
Asli
A
Akin Belli
Department of Dermatology, Ardahan State Hospital, Ardahan, Turkey.
Fatma
F
Etgu
Department of Dermatology, Artvin Hopa State Hospital, Artvin, Turkey.
Seyran
S
Ozbas Gok
Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Mugla, Turkey.
Bilge
B
Kara
Department of Dermatology, Medical School, Mugla Sitki Kocman University, Mugla, Turkey.
Gursoy
G
Dogan
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006200:Hair Color; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010859:Pigmentation Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult