In 2017, I wrote a post about how male pattern hair loss and hair graying were both correlated with significantly increased rates of heart disease. This is especially true if someone is balding or graying at an early age, or if the person has crown (vertex) area hair loss. Both androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and heart disease also have a strong inflammatory component. Interestingly, hair loss drug Minoxidil likely has brain and heart health benefits due to its making stiff arteries and blood vessels more flexible. Thereby lowering blood pressure (albeit modestly if taking a low dose to fight hair loss).
Early-Onset Androgenetic Alopecia Indicates Diabetes Risk
In the July 2026 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, a new study from China concludes that:
“Early-onset androgenetic alopecia may indicate diabetes mellitus (DM) risk in young and middle-aged adults.”
A massive 12,000 participants were analyzed in the study. The AGA prevalence rate was 32.4% in males and 7.1% in females.
Interestingly, while the analysis revealed a significantly higher rate of diabetes in AGA patients aged between 18-49 years (versus those not balding), no such correlation was seen in patients aged over 50 years. They later narrow this even further no say that no association was found in those aged over 45 years.
I first heard about this study from dermatologist and hair loss expert Dr. Maryanne Makredes Senna’s recent video on Instagram.
Some past studies have found a connection between AGA and higher rates of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. And a 2019 US study found that Type 2 diabetes was associated with an increased risk of severe central scalp hair loss in African American women.
All of these findings are not necessarily conclusive as yet. But if you are young and have crown hair loss, it is probably worth monitoring your cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose (sugar) levels regularly.
Also make sure to read my past post on the possible connection between diet, lifestyle and hair loss per one reader’s impressive 60-page research. One counter argument that I have is that bad diets and bad lifestyles never seem to impact people’s body hair adversely.
If only far more homeless people and alcoholics were balding, a lot of people would take this connection more seriously! Humans tend to believe their eyes and real life experiences more than study findings. From what I see at my local bars and on the streets, bad eating and drinking habits do not seem to be making people bald sooner!
Also of note, it has probably never been studied as to whether people who go bald at a younger age end up being less likely to take care of their overall health. i.e., they exercise less, eat more fast food, drink more and suffer from higher rates of depression and loneliness. Anecdotal online stories on hair loss forums suggest this as a strong possibility.
My first thought was to reference your previous post and that one reader’s 60 page write-up. He did some very good research, and I suspect he’s ahead of the curve regarding male-equivalent polycystic ovary syndrome. Research on PCOS is already delayed for various reasons, and though scientists are starting to fill in the gaps there, it will be another decade before the male-equivalent syndrome — if it exists — is widely recognized.
I’d certainly be interested to know, if that reader still visits this blog, how his project has fared.
I’m not clear how well this news maps onto the ME-PCOS theory, but that’s probably because the science hasn’t caught up yet. Certainly the overlap between metabolic disorder, diabetes, and hair loss is relevant, and probably is meaningful to many of us.
I’m a non-obese, non-smoking, non-drinking, regularly-exercising male on a low-glycemic diet, and despite all that, I have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and a fasting glucose level that is creeping up unexplainably, along with unexplained high blood pressure. Addressing any of this with a doctor — quite aside from how it relates to hair loss — is like banging my head against a wall.
In this country, at any rate, these are all “lifestyle” diseases, and if you encounter them while living a low-risk lifestyle, the majority of doctors still attribute them to lifestyle and fail miserably to actually listen to the patient.
Or, as you’ve written about in the past (your father on blood pressure meds), they treat the symptoms and decline to pursue the cause.
At any rate, even as we all place bets on our favorites in the race for the cure, I enjoy reading these sorts of posts that call attention to medicine’s piss-poor understanding of the cause(s) and remind us that it isn’t just a cosmetic issue for many of us.