Men who go grey or bald in their 20s or 30s may be at greater risk suffering a heart attack, research suggests.
People who lose their hair or go grey before the age of 40 are five times as likely to also suffer heart problems at an early age, scientists found.
The discovered it was an even bigger risk factor than obesity, which raised the risk of early heart disease four times.
Experts suspect premature balding and grey hair are red flags that the body is ageing too fast.
People who lose their hair or go grey before the age of 40 are five times as likely to also suffer heart problems at an early age, scientists found
They believe some people’s ‘biological age’ accelerates faster than their real, or chronological, age.
This happens when DNA starts to deteriorate, damaging the cells of the body.
Such a process harms the heart – but also damages the hair follicles, which is displayed in grey or bald hair.
Lead researcher Dr Sachin Patil, from the UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre in Gujarat, India, said: ‘The incidence of coronary artery disease in young men is increasing but cannot be explained by traditional risk factors.
‘Premature greying and androgenic alopecia (baldness) correlate well with vascular age irrespective of chronological age and are plausible risk factors for coronary artery disease.’
The study compared 790 men who had heart disease before the age of 40 with 1,270 healthy men of the same age.
Participants were given scores for increasing levels of baldness and hair whitening.
Young men with heart disease were significantly more likely to be prematurely grey or balding than the healthy individuals.
Co-author Dr Kamal Sharma, also from the UN Mehta Institute, said: ‘Baldness and premature greying should be considered risk factors for coronary artery disease.
‘These factors may indicate biological, rather than chronological, age which may be important in determining total cardiovascular risk.
‘Currently physicians use common sense to estimate biological age but a validated scale is needed.’
Experts suspect premature balding and grey hair are red flags that the body is ageing too fast
The findings were presented at the 69th Annual Conference of the Cardiological Society of India in Kolkata, India.
Professor Alun Hughes, from University College London, said: ‘Correlations between grey hair and risk of heart disease have been observed before, although a causal link has not been demonstrated.
‘Nevertheless, since grey hair is due to impaired renewal of melanocyte stem cells, people have speculated that it may be an indicator of DNA damage associated with ageing.
‘Also, since hair follicles are a target for androgens – eg testosterone – it has been suggested that early male pattern baldness could reflect differences in responses to androgens that might influence the risk of heart disease.’
But Dr Mike Knapton, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘At the moment doctors and nurses work hard to identify people who are likely to go on to develop heart disease or suffer from a stroke.
‘This study suggests that identifying men with premature hair loss and greying may help identify those with an increased risk of developing heart disease.
‘However, this isn’t something that people can change, whereas you can modify your lifestyle and risk factors such as high cholesterol and blood pressure. These are far more important things to consider.’