Relationship between the exercise and severity of androgenic alopecia

Androgenic alopecia (AGA) is the most common type of alopecia. At present, the study on AGA mostly focuses on drugs, laser technology and hair transplantation, while the lifestyle factor that may delay the course of AGA and improve the condition of AGA is neglected. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the exercise and severity of androgenic alopecia, and to help AGA patients to choose suitable forms and amounts of exercise.

Patients, who were diagnosed with AGA from May 13, 2020 to August 25, 2020, were the subjects of the survey. Through the internet online questionnaire survey, the information regarding demographics, exercise forms (lifestyle exercises, stretching exercises, aerobic exercises, and anaerobic exercises), exercise frequency (0-2 times/week, 3-4 times/week, and 5-7 times/week), exercise duration (<30, 30-60, and >60 min/time), and family history (androgenic alopecia, alopecia areata, and scarring alopecia) was obtained. Combination of patient self-assessment and doctor's photo examination was used to evaluate the changes (improvement, aggravation, and natural course) of the condition after 6 months of exercise. Single factor analysis and logistic regression analysis were used to study the factors related to the changes before and after exercise.

A total of 592 AGA patients were recruited. Among them, 215 were male patients (36.32%), and 377 were female patients (63.68%); 91 patients (15.37%) were improved after 6 months of exercise, 448 patients (75.68%) were in natural progress, and 53 patients (8.95%) were aggravated. A total of 439 AGA patients were involved in non-life sports. After 6 months of exercise, 137 patients (31.21%) with scalp itching and scaling were reduced, 65 patients (14.81%) with greasy scalp was reduced, and 204 patients (46.47%) with anxiety and depression symptoms were improved compared with the previous period, and 356 patients (81.10%) showed that their sleep quality was improved compared with before. The changes in the condition before and after exercise are related to exercise style (P<0.001), exercise frequency (P=0.033), exercise duration (P=0.044), but not related to gender (P=0.358) and family history (P=0.052). The degree of improvement in AGA patients, who performed aerobic exercise, was 5.416 times of those who only performed life-like exercises (OR=5.416, P<0.001); the degree of improvement in AGA patients with each exercise time >60 min was 3.106 times of those with each exercise time <30 min (OR=3.106, P=0009).

Doing aerobic exercise or each exercise time >60 min helps to delay the progress of AGA and improve the symptom of AGA.