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 loss, 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 the new research,
being reported in the journal Dermatologica Sinica, fertility specialists and
dermatologists 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 that 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 levels of testosterone, and that the
male hormone that gives them the superior sex drive is also the cause of the
loss of hair at a younger age.
However, it is now known
that some men with low levels of testosterone also lose their hair early, and
that male pattern baldness is caused by a complex combination of genetic and
hormonal factors.
Around one in seven
couples have difficulty conceiving – the equivalent of 3.5 million people in
the UK.
Problems with the man
are identified in 40 to 60 per cent of cases.
