Acta Dermato-Venereologica 98-8CompleteContent | Seite 9

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CLINICAL REPORT ActaDV ActaDV Advances in dermatology and venereology Acta Dermato-Venereologica

Association Between Premature Hair Greying and Metabolic Risk Factors : A Cross-sectional Study
Seung Hwan PAIK 1 – 4 , Sihyeok JANG 1 , Hee-Kyung JOH 5 , 6 , Chun Soo LIM 7 , BeLong CHO 8 – 10 , Ohsang KWON 1 – 3 and Seong Jin JO 1 – 3
1
Department of Dermatology , 5 Department of Medicine and 10 Institute on Aging , Seoul National University College of Medicine , 2 Institute of Human-Environment Interface Biology and 9 Advanced Institutes of Convergence Technology , Seoul National University , 3 Laboratory of Cutaneous Aging and Hair Research , Biomedical Research Institute and 8 Department of Family Medicine and Health Promotion Center , Seoul National University Hospital , 4 Department of Dermatology , Asan Medical Center , University of Ulsan College of Medicine , 6 Department of Family Medicine , Seoul National University Health Service Center , and 7 Department of Internal Medicine , Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center , Seoul , Korea
The association of hair greying with metabolic syndrome is not well known , while association with obesity and coronary artery disease has been suggested . A cross-sectional study was conducted to identify an association between premature hair greying and metabolic risk factors . Of the 1,929 young healthy subjects ( 1,067 men and 862 women ), 704 ( 36.4 %) were categorized in the premature hair greying group . Waist circumference ( means of non-premature hair greying vs . premature hair greying , 74.3 vs . 76.3 cm ; p < 0.001 ), systolic ( 109.2 vs . 111.7 mmHg ; p < 0.001 ) and diastolic ( 65.0 vs . 66.2 mmHg ; p = 0.003 ) blood pressures , and fasting blood sugar ( 90.8 vs . 91.6 mg / dl ; p = 0.013 ) were higher and serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( 68.1 vs 65.4 mg / dl ; p < 0.001 ) was lower in premature hair greying group . Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that metabolic risk factors ≥ 2 was independently associated with premature hair greying after controlling for confounding factors ( odds ratio 1.725 ; p = 0.036 ). The present study revealed an association between premature hair greying and metabolic risk factors .
Key words : hair greying ; premature hair greying ; metabolic syndrome ; metabolic risk factors .
Accepted May 22 , 2018 ; Epub ahead of print May 24 , 2018 Acta Derm Venereol 2018 ; 98 : 748 – 752 .
Corr : Seong Jin Jo , Department of Dermatology , Seoul National University College of Medicine , 101 Daehangno , Chongno-gu , 03080 Seoul , Korea . E-mail : sj . jo @ snu . ac . kr

Hair greying ( canities ) is a natural age-related occurrence ( 1 ). Since everyone develops grey hair with age , it is not considered a disease . Even when a person develops grey hair at a young age , it is thought of as a cosmetic , not a medical , condition . However , as the chances of developing a disease increase with age , many studies have postulated that hair greying could be a predictor of some geriatric diseases . For example , some studies have revealed an association between hair greying and coronary artery disease ( CAD ) ( 2 – 4 ).

In our previous study , we found that premature hair greying ( PHG ) is associated with family history of PHG , smoking and obesity ( 5 ). Among these factors , smoking
SIGNIFICANCE
This study presented an association between premature hair graying and metabolic risk factors in young Koreans . Waist circumference , blood pressure , and fasting blood sugar were higher and serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was lower in subjects with premature hair graying . The prevalence of subjects who had two or more metabolic risk factors was higher in subjects with premature hair graying than those without . It postulates that premature hair graying can be considered as a clinical marker for evaluating patients at risk for metabolic syndrome .
and obesity are risk factors for CAD . The National Cholesterol Education Program ’ s Adult Treatment Panel III report ( ATP III ) viewed CAD as the primary outcome of metabolic syndrome ( 6 ), which is a constellation of interrelated risk factors of metabolic origin ( metabolic risk factors ), such as obesity , dyslipidaemia and hypertension ( 7 ). Metabolic syndrome could induce precocious ageing ( 8 ). However , an association between hair greying and metabolic syndrome has seldom been studied .
The aim of the present study was to determine if there is an association between PHG and metabolic risk factors , after adjustment for potential confounders . PHG was considered as the presence of grey hair under the age of 30 years in this study , since hair greying usually begins in the fourth decade of life ( 1 ). Data about already known associated risk factors , such as family history of PHG and smoking history , were collected using questionnaires . Biochemical and anthropometric parameters related to the metabolic profile were measured , and their association with PHG was analysed .
METHODS Study design
Healthy participants undergoing regular medical check-ups were recruited at the Center for Health Promotion and Optimal Aging of Seoul National University Hospital , between March 2015 and February 2016 . To be included in the study , participants had to be healthy with no acute or chronic disease , aged between 20 and 29 years , and consent to participate in the study . Subjects were excluded if they had an existing hypopigmentary disorder , or had doi : 10.2340 / 00015555-2974 Acta Derm Venereol 2018 ; 98 : 748 – 752
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license . www . medicaljournals . se / acta Journal Compilation © 2018 Acta Dermato-Venereologica .