Heart Disease and Balding: A Look Back at Cotton et al, 1972

50 Years Since a Link Between Balding and Heart Disease was First Uncovered.

A landmark study published in the British Heart Journal in 1972 first drew attention to the link between balding and heart disease.

It was 50 years ago that a landmark paper in the British Heart Journal shower a link between baldness and heart disease.

Cotton and colleagues evaluated 91 males under 65 years with heart disease and compared findings to 91 healthy males. Diastolic blood pressure proved to be the most important factor predicting heart disease. However, baldness, arcus (grey white ring around cornea due to lipid deposits) xanthelasma (yellowish plaques on eyelids often seen in setting of high cholesterol), family history of high blood pressure, smoking and hyperlipedemia were also associated.

Studies over the next decades showed than androgenetic hair loss in both males and females is associated with an increased risk for metabolic syndrome including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and central obesity. These factors all increase the risk for cardiovascular disease.

Reference
Cotton et al. Factors discriminating men with coronary heart disease from healthy controls. Br Heart Journal 1972; 34(5):458-464