Hair Loss News

Women who are insulin resistant are more likely to suffer from Androgenetic Alopecia, say researchers in Turkey.

The researchers found that women with Androgenetic Alopecia (AGA) were more likely to also be insulin resistant than healthy subjects.

Although these women were not obese, it is still possible to become insulin resistant due to an excessive consumption of sugar.   This study appears to give credence to the theory that diet can affect the severity of hair loss.

The presence of insulin resistance and comparison of various insulin sensivity indices in women with androgenetic alopecia.

Eur J Dermatol. 2007 Feb 27
Ekmekci TR, Ucak S, Basat O, Koslu A, Altuntas Y.
Department of Dermatology, Sisli Etfal Research and Training Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.

We aimed to identify the association of female androgenetic alopecia with insulin resistance and to evaluate various simple insulin sensitivity indices and beta cell function in women with androgenetic alopecia (AGA).

A cross-sectional study was performed in 66 non-obese women (24-44 years old), 41 with AGA alone and 25 healthy individuals. Blood glucose, insulin, c-peptide levels, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT); insulin sensitivity and beta cell function indices derived from a single blood sample and OGTT were determined and compared in the two groups.

Women with AGA had impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) rates of 12.5%. In the control group IGT was 0%. Fasting glucose, c-peptide, insulin were higher in AGA group. When the indices were evaluated, Raynaud index, FIRI and HOMA-IR results found to be higher in the AGA group than in controls (p < 0.05, for all). Fasting insulin(-1), GIR, FIRI(-1), QUICKY index, ISI HOMA, HOMA-IS results were lower in AGAs than in controls (p < 0.05, for all).

Our study showed that women with AGA alone were more insulin resistant than healthy subjects. We suggest that beta cell function and insulin sensitivity indices are useful methods for measuring insulin resistance in AGAs, and HOMA-IR is a good predictor of insulin resistance. We propose that OGTT should be applied in women with AGA.

Source: PMID 17324822