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Smoking, obesity, family history associated with men's premature hair graying

Premature hair graying in young men was associated with family history, obesity and smoking, according to study results.

Researchers in South Korea conducted two cross-sectional studies using questionnaires that surveyed men younger than 30 years old who were healthy enough to engage in military service. Based on the results of a pilot study of 1,069 men, the researchers conducted a modified questionnaire study of 6,390 men with a mean age of 20.2 years.

The researchers classified 1,618 men as having premature hair graying (PHG), which was significantly associated with family history of PHG, obesity and a more than 5 pack-years history of smoking.

Through a multivariate ordinal logistic regression analysis, the researchers also found the severity of PHG was correlated with family history of PHG and obesity.

“In particular, family history and obesity showed reproducible significance in both the pilot and main studies and were correlated with the severity of PHG,” the researchers concluded.

Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.