Differences in Male and Female Commenters Regarding the New York Times Oral Minoxidil Article

Evaluation of Comments Highlights Important Gender Differences

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Desir at 2023

Authors set out to analyze comments posted in New York Times article posts to evaluate common themes and to see if there are specific differences in male commenters compared to female commenters.

In total there were 824 comments posted by the December 16 study cut off. 27% of comments were from women, 35% men, and 38% unspecified. The authors identified 33 themes. Personal hair loss (18%) and considering taking oral minoxidil for hair loss (11.5%) were the most common themes. Of 148 patient commenters specifying gender, the authors noted distinct differences in male and female commenters.

Key Differences in Females

The following were key themes that were more common in women than in men. The numbers in parentheses shows the number of commenters in the New York Times article and the first percentage shows the proportion of females commenting about this theme and the second number shows the proportion of males.In general, women were more likely than men to:

Key Differences in Males

The following were key themes that were more common in men than in women. The numbers in parentheses shows the number of commenters in the New York Times article and the first percentage shows the proportion of males commenting about this theme and the second number shows the proportion of females. In general, men were more likely than women to:

Summary

Overall, this is an interesting summary which allows physicians to understand some of the viewpoints of the public and patients. This study is consistent with other prior studies highlighting that the psychological component of hair loss and the impact of hair loss on gender expression is relevant to both women and men. However, these issues may be of consistently greater importance to female patients.

REFERENCE

Desir N et al. Insights Into Perceptions and Gender Differences About Androgenetic Alopecia in an Observational Study of Commenters on the New York Times Oral Minoxidil Article. J Cutan Med Surg. 2023 Apr 21;12034754231170215.

Kolata G. An Old Medicine Grows New Hair for Pennies a Day, Doctors Say. August 22, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/health/minoxidil-hair-loss-pills.html