BALDNESS AND CORONARY HEART-DISEASE RISK-FACTORS

The present report focuses on the association between baldness pattern and coronary heart disease risk factors in 872 male factory workers f rom southern Italy participating in an epidemiological study. Particip ants were divided according to presence or absence of baldness and bal dness pattern. Participants with fronto-occipital baldness (male-type baldness) (n = 280) characterized by hair loss centered over the verte x with an m-shaped frontal-temporal recession had, on the average, hig her serum cholesterol and blood pressure compared to participants with no baldness (n = 321) and/or participants with just frontal baldness (n = 273). For serum cholesterol, a significant interaction was detect ed between age and fronto-occipital baldness (i.e. the association bet ween fronto-occipital baldness and elevated levels of serum cholestero l became weaker with age). No interaction was detectable between age a nd fronto-occipital baldness for blood pressure. The results of this c ross-sectional study indicate that male-type pattern of baldness is as sociated with elevated CHD risk profile, and that this relation betwee n age and serum cholesterol differs in younger compared to older men.