Evaluation of Sexual Dysfunctions in Male Patients with Androgenetic Alopecia

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common dermatologic condition among men. In this study, we aimed to investigate psychological comorbidities, sexual dysfunctions, and the relationship between them in male patients with AGA.

A total of 220 individuals aged between 18 and 45 years who applied to our dermatology outpatient clinic between June 2022 and June 2023 were included in this study, including 110 healthy male volunteers and 110 male patients diagnosed with AGA. To collect information about the individuals comprising the sample, a sociodemographic characteristics form prepared by the researcher, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Body Perception Scale (BPS), the Golombok-Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS), and the Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) were completed by the participants under the supervision of the researcher. The severity of AGA was determined using the Hamilton-Norwood Scale (HNS).

In our study, it was found that the patient group was statistically significantly more negatively affected in terms of body satisfaction and had higher levels of anxiety, depression, and sexual dysfunction compared with the control group (p=0.028, p=0.001, p=0.001, respectively). It was found that impotence and the tendency to avoid sexual intercourse increased as anxiety symptoms increased in patients with AGA (p=0.010, r=0.245; p=0.006, r=0.259, respectively). Furthermore, an increase in depressive symptoms in patients with AGA was shown to increase the tendency toward erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation (p=0.027, r=-0.210; p=0.001, r=0.366, respectively).

Physicians should take into account that AGA may trigger anxiety, depression, decreased body satisfaction, and sexual dysfunction in male patients, and patients should be evaluated in a multidisciplinary manner. While our study sheds light on future research, larger sample studies are needed to clarify these relationships.