Male pattern baldness and coronary heart disease: The physicians' health study

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between male pattern baldness and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) events. Design, Setting, and Participants: Retrospective cohort study among 22 071 US male physicians aged 40 to 84 years enrolled in the Physicians' Health Study. Of these, 19 112 were free of CHD at baseline and completed a questionnaire at the 11-year follow-up concerning their pattern of hair loss at age 45 years. Response options included no hair loss, frontal baldness only, or frontal baldness with mild, moderate, or severe vertex baldness. Main Outcome Measures: Coronary heart disease events defined as nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), angina pectoris, and/or coronary revascularization. Results: During 11 years of follow-up, we documented 1446 CHD events in this cohort. Compared with men with no hair loss, those with frontal baldness had an age-adjusted relative risk (RR) of CHD of 1.09 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.94-1.25), while those with mild, moderate, or severe vertex baldness had RRs of 1.23 (95% CI, 1.05-1.43), 1.32 (95% CI, 1.10-1.59), and 1.36 (95% CI, 1.11-1.67), respectively (P for trend,