TOPLINE

Early-onset androgenetic alopecia (AGA), scalp hair loss beginning before age 35 years, was associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS) features such as abdominal obesity, elevated fasting blood glucose (FBG), and high triglycerides in a case-control study. 

METHODOLOGY

• Researchers conducted a case-control study of 597 patients aged 18-34 years with early-onset AGA (mean age, 25.3 years; 84.6% men) from a tertiary hospital in Seoul between 2000 and 2024.
• They also included 1194 age- and sex-matched individuals.
• FBG, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure, and abdominal obesity were assessed, with MetS defined using harmonized international criteria.

TAKEAWAY

• Abdominal obesity (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 3.42; P < .01), high FBG (adjusted OR, 2.75; P < .001), and high levels of triglycerides (adjusted OR, 1.64; P < .01) were independent predictors of early-onset AGA.
• The researchers developed a metabolic risk score using these independent predictors, with 0-1 points classified as low risk, 2-3 points as moderate risk, and 4-6 points as high risk for early-onset AGA.
• The prevalence of early-onset AGA increased from 28.8% in the low-risk group to 50.5% and 75.0% in the moderate- and high-risk groups, respectively. Moderate-risk and high-risk adults had higher risk for early-onset AGA compared with low-risk individuals (OR, 2.51 and 7.40, respectively; both P < .001).
• The metabolic risk score showed high specificity at higher thresholds, exceeding 94% for scores ≥ 3 and 99% for scores ≥ 4.

IN PRACTICE

"In conclusion, metabolic abnormalities—particularly abdominal obesity, elevated fasting glucose, and hypertriglyceridemia—were associated with early-onset AGA, with a clear gradient according to cumulative metabolic burden," the authors wrote. "These findings support concurrent metabolic evaluation and lifestyle counseling in young adults with early-onset AGA, particularly when multiple metabolic risk factors cluster."

SOURCE

The study was led by Soomin Park, MD, Seoul National University College of Medicine, and Ji Su Lee, MD, PhD, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. It was published online on September 26 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

LIMITATIONS

The limitations included single-center retrospective design and residual confounding. Metabolic parameters were measured cross-sectionally.

DISCLOSURES

The Korean Dermatological Association funded this study. The authors did not report any conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.