BALD MEN AREN’T AS FERTILE AS YOU THINK
FOLKLORE may have it that baldness is a sign of a man’s virility, but a new study shows that those who lose their hair while young — at about 30 — may in fact be less fertile. Sperm volume count was nearly 60 per cent lower in men with moderate to severe hair l oss, and the researchers say that hormonal changes associated with hair loss may also adversely affect semen.
So- called androgenetic alopecia, or male pattern baldness, is the most common form of hair loss in men and women. It often progresses to baldness and affects about half of men over 50, but can start in their late teens.
In new research, reported in the journal Dermatologica Sinica, fertility specialists looked for links between semen quality and fertility. Doctors carried out a series of tests on men with an average age of 31 and with normal to mild hair loss and moderate to severe hair loss. They found men with moderate to severe hair loss had significantly lower sperm counts than those in the normal to mild group. Volume was also down by about 20 per cent.
The popular idea that bald men are more virile is based on the idea that they have higher testosterone levels, and that the male hormone that gives them the superior sex drive is also the cause of the early loss of hair.
But it is now known some men with low testosterone levels also lose their hair early, and that male pattern baldness is caused by a combination of genetic and hormonal factors.
Around one in seven couples have difficulty conceiving. Problems with the man are identified in 40 to 60 per cent of cases.