Study shows smoking worsens male baldness

Nov 2007

Men who smoke are likely to lose their hair at a younger age than men who do not smoke.

According to a study published in the November issue of the Archives of Dermatology journal, men have higher risks of male pattern baldness if they smoke, and the risks increase with smoking intensity.

Dr. William Rassman, medical director and founder of the New Hair Institute in Los Angeles, said smoking constricts blood vessels, which impedes the circulation of vital nutrients to the scalp.

"We've known for some time that smoking reduces circulation to the scalp, as it does to other parts of the body," Rassman said. "Is it enough to affect the micro-circulation within the hair follicle? We don't know."

The study collected data from 740 men between the ages of 40 and 91 years old.

Researchers from the Far Eastern memorial hospital in Taiwan compared data from the smokers to a control group of nonsmokers. Both groups included a wide age range of men, some with family histories of hair loss, to rule out family history and age as risk factors for baldness. By doing this, the researchers were able to get a clearer idea of the risk of smoking as a single factor.

"You try to reduce as many variables as you can," Rassman said. "I believe that's a reasonable way to do it."

The researchers found statistically significant associations between hair loss and the men's smoking statuses and smoking frequencies.

"The hair needs nourishment and oxygen, so the blood supply is very important," Rassman said. "Sometimes vascular changes can occur, and those can have permanent results, but we can't measure those kinds of changes up there."

Lee Cohen, an associate professor and the director of clinical training in the Texas Tech Department of Psychology, said he believes smoking causes earlier hair loss because it speeds up the body's aging process.

"What we do know is that smoking kind of robs the body of oxygen," he said. "People who smoke look older. Their hair is more brittle, they have wrinkles, they have yellowing of the skin. It's speeding up the aging process a little bit."

The men who smoked the most were the most likely to have hair loss, according to the study results. Men who smoked 20 or more cigarettes each day were more than twice as likely to lose their hair as men who had never smoked. In men who had quit smoking prior to the study, the risk for hair loss was still higher than in men who had never smoked.

"When you talk about people who smoke, some people say, 'I've smoked for so many years, there's no point in quitting now because I've already done the damage,'" Cohen said. "When you quit, some things do reverse, but not everything. People regain their taste buds and lots of other general health types of things come back. But again, not everything does, and hair loss may just be one of those things."

Rassman said it is important to remember that this study's results do not mean all men who smoke will lose their hair.

"Those who lose their hair carry the genetic predisposition for male pattern baldness," Rassman said. "Smoking just induces genetic hair loss earlier or more extremely. It puts hair loss on a fast track."

According to the study results, a person does not have to smoke to be affected; simply being around smokers increases a man's risk for baldness. Even among men who did not smoke, those with first- or second-degree relatives who smoked experienced an increased risk for hair loss.

"They would have to have the predisposition for hair loss," Rassman said, "but it could be that second-hand smoke is inducing the hair loss."

Prior to the release of this survey, smoking already had been linked to dozens of diseases including lung cancer, heart disease and impotence. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 23.9 percent of American men smoke.

According to the American Medical Association, male baldness affects about 40 million men in the United States. About 25 percent of men begin balding by age 30, and approximately two-thirds of men begin balding by the time they are 60 years old.

"Basically, if you want to keep your hair and you have a history of hair loss in your family, don't smoke," Rassman said. "There are a lot of other reasons not to smoke, but this is another good one."

In the study, the researchers gave two possible reasons for the findings. They said smoking may damage the genetic structures of hair follicles, which are responsible for hair growth. Another possible explanation is that smoking may harm the cells at the hair's root, which could impede the circulation of hormones that would allow hair to regrow.