Early-onset Androgenetic Alopecia in Korean Patients Showed No Significant Relationship with Medical Comorbidities / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is characterized by patterned hair loss that typically develops in the third to fourth decade of life. Recently, several studies have reported that medical comorbidities such as coronary artery disease and metabolic syndrome are related with early-onset (before the age of 36 years) AGA, although many of the findings are controversial. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the medical comorbidities and serologic test results of patients with AGA who were aged less than 36 years, and compared them with age-matched controls. METHODS: The medical records of 810 patients with AGA and 227 control subjects who visited the Dermatology Clinic at Yonsei University Wonju Severance Christian Hospital between 2003 and 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Patients from the early-onset AGA group and controls showed no statistically significant differences in their medical comorbidities, average results of serologic tests, and probabilities of having abnormal laboratory results, except for aspartate aminotransferase levels. CONCLUSION: We observed no significant relationship between early-onset AGA and medical comorbidities in the Korean population. Further case-control prospective studies are warranted to evaluate the precise relationship.