Evidence Hub

Factors associated with early-onset androgenetic alopecia: A scoping review

Liu LP, Wariboko MA, Hu X, Wang ZH, Wu Q, Li YM

PloS one, 2024

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Early-onset androgenetic alopecia (AGA) has been associated with various chronic conditions, including metabolic syndrome (MetS). Gaining a deep understanding of early-onset AGA may enable earlier intervention in individuals at high risks. This scoping review aims to explore the risk factors and etiology, associated conditions, and adverse effects on wellbeing in early-onset AGA.

METHODS: Electronic literature searches were conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRIAL. Eligible studies included case-control, cohort, cross-sectional, and meta-analysis studies. Selected studies needed to clearly define early-onset AGA cases or include only cases starting before the age of 40 and compare them with appropriate controls. The exclusion criteria comprised editorials, commentaries, case series, and non-systematic reviews, among others. Data extraction involved collecting study characteristics, methodologies, main outcomes, and findings. Descriptive tables were used to summarize key information and relevant variables when necessary.

RESULTS: Among the 65 eligible articles, 67.69% were case-control studies and 78.46% evaluated only male patients. "Early-onset" was defined as cases developing before the age of 30 years in 43.08% of the studies. The Hamilton-Norwood scale was the most frequently used method for evaluating the severity of alopecia in men (69.23%). Reported risk factors for early-onset AGA included a family history of AGA, cigarette smoking, unhealthy dietary…

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free