Bald men at risk of heart disease

London – For those to whom the comb is but a fond and distant memory, life is about to get even more unfair: bald men are significantly more likely to suffer from heart disease, according to Japanese scientists.

Men balding on top are particularly prone to heart trouble, while those whose hair is merely receding at the front appear to be safe, the scientists said. British experts, however, suggested the evidence might be patchy.

The researchers combed through hundreds of published studies, finding six that connected baldness with coronary heart disease, containing data from 40,000 men.

Half the studies tracked men for more than a decade, they reported in the journal BMJ Open, and found that those who lost most of their hair during this time were a third more likely to develop heart disease than those whose locks remained luxuriant.

For men younger than their mid-50s, the danger rose to 44 per cent.

The other studies compared men who were bald with otherwise similar men who retained a full head of hair, and revealed the same worrying pattern. The glabrous were 70 per cent more likely to suffer from heart disease, with younger bald men 84 per cent more likely to do so.

And the smoother the pate, the greater the risk: some of the studies found mild baldness on top increased heart disease risk by 18 per cent, rising to 48 per cent for those in the Kojak class.

Tomohide Yamada, of Tokyo University, said he had been prompted to do the study after both his balding grandfathers died of heart disease. He said the ‘‘exact reason for the association is still unclear’’, but several problems may be at the root of both conditions.

Testosterone is one possible culprit, as it is converted to a hormone which shrinks follicles and has been linked to a thickening of the arteries. Insulin resistance, which leads to heart problems and interferes with the supply of nutrients to the scalp, is another candidate, Yamada said.