A study on relationship between androgenetic alopecia and cardiovascular risk using high sensitivity C-reactive protein and galectin-3 in men with early onset baldness

• Published in: Biomarkers Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 71 - 78
• Main Authors: Sözen, Mehmet, Baldane, Süleyman, Abusoglu, Sedat, Kebapcılar, Levent, Kebapcılar, Ayşegül, Tunçez Akyürek, Fatma, Ünlü, Ali, İpekci, Süleyman Hilmi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 02.01.2022
• Subjects: Alopecia - complications; Alopecia - diagnosis; Alopecia - epidemiology; Androgenetic alopecia; Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory - adverse effects; C-Reactive Protein; cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular Diseases - complications; Galectin 3; Hamilton-Norwood scale; Heart Disease Risk Factors; hsCRP; Humans; inflammation; Male; Pulse Wave Analysis - adverse effects; Risk Factors; hsCRP; cardiovascular disease; Hamilton-Norwood scale; inflammation; galectin-3; Androgenetic alopecia
• ISSN: 1354-750X; 1366-5804
• DOI: 10.1080/1354750X.2021.2013539

In this study, the objective was to evaluate the cardiovascular and metabolic effects in men with male pattern alopecia beginning before 30 years of age. Total of 81 people (41 androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and 40 healthy individuals) were included in the study. Twenty-four-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) measurement, high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), galectin-3 were studied. Hamilton-Norwood scale (HNS) was used to determine the AGA types of the cases. The mean age in the AGA and control groups was 30.3 ± 7.5 and 30.8 ± 6.0, respectively. Twenty-four-hour ABP measurements, hsCRP, and galectin-3 were similar in both groups. There was a positive correlation between HNS grade with age, BMI, triglyceride levels and fasting blood glucose levels in individuals with AGA. Similarly, there was a positive correlation between HNS grade with daytime pulse wave velocity and night-time reflection magnitude. A significant positive correlation was determined between hsCRP with BMI and waist circumference, and between galectin-3 with BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, HOMA-IR in individuals with AGA. This study shows that AGA patients are similar to the normal population in terms of insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome components. However, hsCRP and galectin-3 appear to be associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors in individuals with AGA.