Low circulating insulin-like growth factor-1 and high density lipoprotein are associated with hair loss in middle-aged women.

Br J Dermatol. 2016 Mar 9. doi: 10.1111/bjd.14529. [Epub ahead of print]
Low circulating insulin-like growth factor-1 and high density lipoprotein are associated with hair loss in middle-aged women.

BACKGROUND:

Multiple biomarkers have been associated with hair loss in women, but studies showed inconsistent results.

OBJECTIVE:

We investigated the association between markers of cardiovascular disease risk (e.g., serum lipid levels and hypertension) and aging (e.g., 25-hydroxyvitamin D and insulin-like growth factor) with hair loss in a population of middle-aged women.

METHODS:

In a random subgroup of 323 middle-aged women (mean age: 61.5 years) from the Leiden Longevity Study, hair loss was graded by three assessors using the Sinclair scale; women with a mean score higher than 1.5 were classified as cases with hair loss.

RESULTS:

Every standard deviation increase in HDL cholesterol was associated with a 0.65 times lower risk (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.46-0.91) of hair loss; for IGF-1 the risk was 0.68 times lower (95% CI: 0.48-0.97) per standard deviation increase, independent of the other studied variables. Women with both IGF-1 and HDL cholesterol levels below the median of the study population had a 3.47 times higher risk (95% CI: 1.30-9.25) of having hair loss.

CONCLUSION:

Low HDL cholesterol and IGF-1 were associated with a higher risk of hair loss in women. However, further studies are required to infer causal relationships. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.