Divorce, smoking may trigger hair loss in women

As if the heartache of divorce wasn’t hardship enough, it appears that women enduring marital break-up may also have to deal with hair loss.

New research reveals that, genetics aside, the next strongest predictor of midline (central) hair loss among women is their marital status, with the loss of a spouse (through either divorce or death) raising the risk for thinning hair above that of married or single women.

“Most likely, stress is the aspect of a troubling divorce that appears to lead to hair loss among women,” noted study author Dr. Bahman Guyuron, chairman of the department of plastic surgery at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.

Excessive drinking and/or smoking also appear to boost the risk for hair loss among women, the study found.

Smoking and heavy drinking also contributed to thinning locks among men, the study found. But in other respects the two genders were affected differently, with various patterns of male hair loss sparked by overexposure to the sun, cancer history and having a “couch potato” lifestyle, among others.

“What we can say is that we identified factors that appear to both raise risk and lower risk, for both men and women, independent of genetic disposition,” Guyuron said

He is slated to present the findings from two related studies on Sunday at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ annual meeting, in Denver.

In the first study, the authors focused exclusively on a pool of 84 female identical twins, all of whom completed lifestyle questionnaires, followed by hormone blood level testing and an extensive photo analysis of their hair. Studies of identical twins can be useful because each twin carries the same genes as the other, ruling out genetic differences as a potential cause for a trait or illness.

Across the temporal area (near temples) of the head, the team found that the more years a woman had smoked the greater the hair loss. A history of skin conditions also contributed to hair loss in that area, while having just a couple drinks per week actually seemed to reduce the risk.

Hair loss in the coronal area (nearer the top) of the head among women was linked to being diabetic, having some form of skin disease and being a current smoker, while being overweight or obese was associated with lower risk of hair loss.

Guyuron said the findings indicate that female hair loss can also be sparked by excessive sleeping patterns, as well as situations commonly associated with stress such as having multiple children and/or getting married.

Women who drank coffee, used sun protection (such as a hat) and were happily married all faced a lower overall risk for hair loss, he added.

The team’s second study similarly looked at hair loss among 66 male identical twins.

The results: in addition to smoking and sun exposure, having a history of dandruff also boosted midline hair loss risk, while cumulative sun exposure and a history of cancer elevated risk for both temporal and coronal hair loss.

Men who didn’t exercise regularly and had high blood pressure also had a higher risk for coronal hair loss.

Men who exercised outdoors a lot also face a higher risk for hair loss, and Guyuron believes sun exposure could play a role there.

Dr. Doris Day, an attending physician in dermatology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, expressed little surprise at the findings relating divorce to hair loss in women.

“It’s complicated,” she noted, “but it’s not a shock to suggest that various kinds of stress can lead to hair loss. Or that men and women don’t experience stress in the same way, so that their hair loss patterns may be different.”

“And in the end, I am a big proponent of the idea that it’s how you handle the stress that can make a difference,” she added. “The mind-and-body connection is incredibly powerful. It helps to try and keep perspective, put the big things that happen in life, the major milestones, in their place and keep an open mind.”

“Of course, you can still get treatment,” said Day. “You can still go for Rogaine drops or laser hair treatment, for example. There are always medical things that can be done, and one does not preclude the other. But patients also need to try and control what they can control in terms of the way they approach stress and handle situations.”

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Marital status has strong effect on hair loss among women

Marital status, next to genetics, has the strongest effect on hair loss among women, according to two American studies quoted by media reports Monday.

The loss of a spouse, through either divorce or death, raises the risk of hair loss to women, according to Dr. Bahman Guyuron, who presented the studies at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ annual meeting in Denvor.

Guyuron said the stress taken by women during a divorce appears to cause their hair loss.

In one of the studies, Guyuron focused on the lifestyle of 84 female identical twins, tested their hormone blood level, and analysed photos of their hair.

He found women suffering from spouse loss have relatively high risk of thinning hair.

In addition, excessively drinking and smoking also appears to increase the risk of hair loss among women.

Guyuron said women who drink coffee, use sun protection and are happily married face a lower risk of hair loss than those not.

Patients of hair loss can get treatment through medicines or surgery, but they “also need to try and control what they can control in terms of the way they approach stress and handle situations,” said Dr. Doris Day, an physician in dermatology who attended the meeting.

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Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help

It's not just the love that's gone: Divorce causes women to lose their hair, according to research

It’s not just love that’s lost when a couple divorce, it can also cause women to lose their hair, according to new research.

The study found that women who had lost a partner through divorce or death were far more likely to have thinning hair than women who were happily married or single.

The author of the project, Dr Bahman Guyuron, chairman of the department of plastic surgery at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, believes the link is down to how a woman’s marital status affects her state of mind.

‘Most likely, stress is the aspect of a troubling divorce that appears to lead to hair loss among women,’ he told HealthDay News.

He added that other stressful situations, such as having children, could affect a woman’s hairline in the same way.

But remaining calm isn’t the only way to prevent hair loss in women, according to the study. Aside from genetics and stress, excessive drinking and smoking can contribute to women losing their locks.

The conclusions were reached after studying 84 female identical twins, who completed lifestyle questionnaires, had hormone blood level testing and extensive photo analysis of their hair.

The study noted that using identical twins was important because each twin carries the same genes as the other, ruling out genetic differences as a potential cause for hair loss.

Stress factor: Situations like divorce can cause women to lose their hair according to a study (posed by model)

Battle of the sexes: Divorce didn’t affect men’s hairlines in the same way but both genders were more at risk if they smoked or drank excessively

Across temples of the women, the team found that the more years a woman had smoked, the greater her hair loss. A history of skin conditions also contributed to the problem.

Hair loss on top of the female’s heads was linked to being diabetic, having some form of skin disease and being a smoker.

Meanwhile, having a couple drinks a week reduced the hair loss risk at the temple while while being overweight meant having a lower risk of hair loss on top of the head.

Women who drank coffee, used sun protection and were happily married had a lower overall risk of any hair loss, Dr Guyuron added.

Dr Doris Day, an attending physician in dermatology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said she was not surprised by a link between divorce and hair loss in women.

‘It’s not a shock to suggest that various kinds of stress can lead to hair loss. Or that men and women don’t experience stress in the same way, so that their hair loss patterns may be different,’ she said.

‘And in the end, I am a big proponent of the idea that it’s how you handle the stress that can make a difference. The mind-and-body connection is incredibly powerful. It helps to try and keep perspective, put the big things that happen in life, the major milestones, in their place and keep an open mind.’

The team also studied the possible causes of hair loss in men and found while stress didn’t affect them in the same way as women, smoking, heavy drinking and sun exposure were also contributing factors for their thinning hair.

Men who didn’t exercise regularly, had high blood pressure and a history of dandruff also had a higher risk of losing hair from the top of the head.

But men now rushing to exercise must take care if it’s in the sun, as those who exercised outdoors regularly faced a higher risk of thinning hair because of the sun exposure.

For treatments that work without any side effect read:

• Vitastim Hair Stimulant
• Biostim Hair Stimulant
• Follicle Builder II

Do you have Hair Loss Problems, read our Hair Loss Help