Association of early-onset androgenetic alopecia and metabolic syndrome in Thai men: a case-control study.

Background: There are many studies of the association between early-onset androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and metabolic syndrome (MS), which is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However the results are inconsistent. There is no study in a Thai population.

Objective: To evaluate the association of early-onset AGA and metabolic syndrome in Thai male patients.

Material And Method: Patients were recruited from the check-up clinic. There were 80 male subjects: 40 with a diagnosis of early-onset AGA (before 35 years of age) and 40 control subjects without alopecia. Data from medical records, self-administered forms, and interview were collected and analyzed.

Results: Patients with early-onset AGA had the 3.48-fold higher risk of metabolic syndrome than in a control group (p = 0.015, odd ratio = 3.48, 95% confidence interval = 1.25-9.75). There was no relationship between AGA severity and metabolic syndrome (p = 0.629). There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of metabolic syndrome parameter

Conclusion: The present study found the association between early onset A GA and metabolic syndrome in Thai men. Early detection of metabolic syndrome in this population may be useful to prevent cardiovascular diseases.