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Can
high insulin levels cause hair loss
It is well known that women who have high levels of insulin from
the disease polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are most likely to
develop androgenetic alopecia. A study from Harvard School of Public
Health showed that men who have the highest blood levels of insulin
like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) are more likely to suffer male pattern
baldness.
From this research some individuals have concluded that high blood
levels of insulin and its growth factors may cause male pattern
baldness in men and women. They suggest that pattern baldness may
be caused by high levels of insulin produced by eating large amounts
of sugary and floured foods such as bakery products and pastas.
They believe male pattern baldness can be prevented by avoiding
flour and sugar, eating fruits only with meals, and taking alternative
treatments such as Glucophage, Actos, and Avandia that they claim
lower insulin levels.
It is correct that high levels of insulin are found in men and
women with hair loss. However, this is a consequence of androgen
hormone activity that occurs in PCOS and pattern baldness and is
unlikely to be the fundamental cause of hair loss. There is a complex
interaction between androgen hormones, sex hormone binding globulin
(SHBG), and insulin levels. When SHBG levels go down, insulin levels
go up as a consequence.
If it was true that insulin directly caused pattern baldness then
people with the autoimmune type I form of insulin dependent diabetes,
where insulin production is significantly reduced, would be expected
to be more resistant to development of pattern baldness and/or to
have more limited hair loss. However, there is no evidence to show
that diabetics have reduced levels of pattern alopecia.
Insulin may have an affect on pattern alopecia, but the weight
of evidence indicates that it is only a potential influence when
other factors such as steroids and SHBG are involved.
Can
high insulin levels cause hair loss references
- Signorello
LB, Wuu J, Hsieh Cc, Tzonou A, Trichopoulos D, Mantzoros CS. Hormones
and hair patterning in men: a role for insulin-like growth factor
1? J Am Acad Dermatol. 1999 Feb;40(2 Pt 1):200-3.
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