Hair Loss Statistics




Hair loss affects many people in the world. Some feel uncomfortable about losing hair, the others understand that it is common and do not try to hide it. Hair loss affects both men and women of all ages. Sometimes it is temporary and can be treated, but for others it is a permanent event that is unpreventable.

There are approximately 35 million men and 21 million women in America that get affected by hair loss in various degrees. If you consider permanent hair loss, 40 percent of men in the age of 35 have visible patterns of hair loss and 60 percent of women get it at around 60.

The medical term for hair loss is alopecia. The most common types are Alopecia Areata and Androgenic Alopecia. There are also other kinds like: Telogen effluvium, ringworm or Tinea, hair loss caused by the lack of most important vitamins and minerals like Vitamins A, B complex, C and D, iron, iodine, and protein.

Alopecia Areata is an unpredictable autoimmune skin disease which results in almost instant hair loss. Sometimes the patients acquire bald patches within one night. At least 2% of all people have this problem which is 5 million patients in U.S. only.

This disease has not been studied completely and its sources have not been found so far. A person with this disease usually gets perfectly round bald patches, but the follicles in the circles are not dead and ready to start producing new hair as soon as they get a chance. Very often the disease goes away by itself without any specific treatment, but in other cases it grows to Alopecia Areata Totalis which symbolizes the total scalp hair loss or even to Alopecia Areata Universalis with which the person loses all body hair.

Unfortunately due to lack of studies there are no medications approved by Food and Drug Administration specifically for this disease. At this moment no drug was proven to stop hair loss. However, in order to restore the hair in the bald patches a specialist might recommend crèmes or drugs which increase the speed of hair growth.

Androgenic Alopecia is a very common type of hair loss. Both men and women suffer from it primarily after the age of 40. Men have a higher risk to have this problem. Androgenic Alopecia is considered to be a cosmetic disorder and it does not affect human’s health or psychological condition as some people might think.

Since the hair loss usually starts in the same way and follows a well-set pattern, people gave this problem other name: Pattern Baldness. Dr. James Hamilton has presented a scale of patterns for those who experience Angrogenic Alopecia in 1950s. Later it has been improved and updated by Dr. O’Tar Norwood in 1970s. Now it is known as Hamilton-Norwood or simply Norwood scale.

It is impossible to cure this type of hair loss completely, but it might be slowed down. The data shows that 85% men use Minoxidil such as Rogaine, while the other 15% try Finasteride which is a steroid that rejuvenates hair follicles. None of these treatments helps instantly; the patient has to use medication for at least a year in order see the difference.

Ladies tend to develop Androgenic Alopecia in pre menopause period. Since the level of hormones changes and the body restructures itself, some hair falls out and never grows back. The statistics says that 13% of women have noticed the signs of hair loss in the pre menopausal time. However, Androgenic Alopecia can come even later: 75% women older than 65 have said they had some degree of hair loss.

It has been noticed that Androgenic Alopecia is more common for Caucasian people than representatives of other races.

Alex Bright

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Posted on June 17, 2009 
Filed Under Hair Loss, Hair Loss Diagnosis, Hair Loss News and Statistics, Hair Loss Reasons

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