Association of Epidemiological and Biochemical Factors with Premature Graying of Hair: A Case–Control Study

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Abstract

Background:

Premature hair graying (PHG) is often a matter of great concern for patients as it is viewed as a sign of increasing age, debility, decreasing vigor, and may lead to low self-esteem and psychological morbidity. Its etiopathogenesis is not completely understood but genetic, and various acquired factors have been implicated. The present study was undertaken to evaluate various epidemiological and biochemical variables associated with PHG.

Materials and Methods:

A cross-sectional case–control study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in North India for 1 year which comprised 120 patients and equal number of controls. Various epidemiological variables were recorded and compared to controls. Serum ferritin, serum calcium, serum Vitamin D, serum Vitamin B12, lipid profile, thyroid profile, and fasting blood sugar were measured and compared among cases and controls.

Results:

Significantly higher proportion of cases had atopic diathesis, sedentary lifestyle, family history, history of smoking, and higher perceived stress values as compared to controls. Hair oiling seemed to protect against premature graying. Significantly, lower levels of serum calcium, ferritin, Vitamin B12, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and high low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol were observed among cases.

Conclusion:

In the light of the present study, further studies with larger sample size are required to establish the definite etiological significance of these variables and formulate various preventive and therapeutic targets to prevent and treat PHG.

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Most cited references 32

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Perceived Stress Scale: Reliability and Validity Study in Greece

Eleni Andreou, Evangelos C Alexopoulos, Christos Lionis … (2011)

Objective: To translate the Perceived Stress Scale (versions PSS-4, −10 and −14) and to assess its psychometric properties in a sample of general Greek population. Methods: 941 individuals completed anonymously questionnaires comprising of PSS, the Depression Anxiety and Stress scale (DASS-21 version), and a list of stress-related symptoms. Psychometric properties of PSS were investigated by confirmatory factor analysis (construct validity), Cronbach’s alpha (reliability), and by investigating relations with the DASS-21 scores and the number of symptoms, across individuals’ characteristics. The two-factor structure of PSS-10 and PSS-14 was confirmed in our analysis. We found satisfactory Cronbach’s alpha values (0.82 for the full scale) for PSS-14 and PSS-10 and marginal satisfactory values for PSS-4 (0.69). PSS score exhibited high correlation coefficients with DASS-21 subscales scores, meaning stress (r = 0.64), depression (r = 0.61), and anxiety (r = 0.54). Women reported significantly more stress compared to men and divorced or widows compared to married or singled only. A strong significant (p < 0.001) positive correlation between the stress score and the number of self-reported symptoms was also noted. Conclusions: The Greek versions of the PSS-14 and PSS-10 exhibited satisfactory psychometric properties and their use for research and health care practice is warranted.

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Towards a "free radical theory of graying": melanocyte apoptosis in the aging human hair follicle is an indicator of oxidative stress induced tissue damage.

Petra Clara Arck, Rupert W. Overall, Katharina Spatz … (2006)

Oxidative stress is generated by a multitude of environmental and endogenous challenges such as radiation, inflammation, or psychoemotional stress. It also speeds the aging process. Graying is a prominent but little understood feature of aging. Intriguingly, the continuous melanin synthesis in the growing (anagen) hair follicle generates high oxidative stress. We therefore hypothesize that hair bulb melanocytes are especially susceptible to free radical-induced aging. To test this hypothesis, we subjected human scalp skin anagen hair follicles from graying individuals to macroscopic and immunohistomorphometric analysis and organ culture. We found evidence of melanocyte apoptosis and increased oxidative stress in the pigmentary unit of graying hair follicles. The "common" deletion, a marker mitochondrial DNA-deletion for accumulating oxidative stress damage, occurred most prominently in graying hair follicles. Cultured unpigmented hair follicles grew better than pigmented follicles of the same donors. Finally, cultured pigmented hair follicles exposed to exogenous oxidative stress (hydroquinone) showed increased melanocyte apoptosis in the hair bulb. We conclude that oxidative stress is high in hair follicle melanocytes and leads to their selective premature aging and apoptosis. The graying hair follicle, therefore, offers a unique model system to study oxidative stress and aging and to test antiaging therapeutics in their ability to slow down or even stop this process.

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Graying: gerontobiology of the hair follicle pigmentary unit.

R Paus, Martin D. Tobin (2000)

The visual appearance of humans derives predominantly from their skin and hair color. The phylogenetically ancient biochemical [corrected] pathway underling this phenomenon is called melanogenesis and results in the production of melanin pigments in neural crest-derived melanocytes, followed by its transfer to epithelial cells. While melanin from epidermal melanocytes clearly protects human skin by screening harmful ultraviolet radiation, the biologic value of hair pigmentation is less clear. In addition to important roles in social/sexual communication, one potential benefit of pigmented scalp hair in humans may be the rapid excretion of heavy metals, chemicals, toxins from the body by their selective binding to melanin. The hair follicle and epidermal melanogenic systems are broadly distinct, though open. The primary distinguishing feature of follicular melanogenesis, compared to the continuous melanogenesis in the epidermis, is the tight coupling of hair follicle melanogenesis to the hair growth cycle. This cycle appears to involve periods of melanocyte proliferation (during early anagen), maturation (mid to late anagen) and melanocyte death via apoptosis (during early catagen). Thus, each hair cycle is associated with the reconstruction of an intact hair follicle pigmentary unit... at least for the first 10 cycles or so. Thereafter, gray and white hairs appear, suggesting an age-related, genetically regulated exhaustion of the pigmentary potential of each individual hair follicle. Melanocyte aging may be associated with reactive oxygen species-mediated damage to nuclear and mitochondrial DNA with resultant accumulation of mutations with age, in addition to dysregulation of anti-oxidant mechanisms or pro/anti-apoptotic factors within the cells. While the perception of "gray hair" derives in large part from the admixture of pigmented and white hair, it is important to note that individual hair follicles can indeed exhibit pigment dilution or true grayness. This dilution is due to a reduction in tyrosinase activity of hair bulbar melanocytes, sub-optimal melanocyte-cortical keratinocyte interactions, and defective migration of melanocytes from a reservoir in the upper outer root sheath to the pigment-permitting microenvironment close to the dermal papilla of the hair bulb. Animal models with mutations in apoptotic survival factors (e.g. bcl-2) and in melanogenic enzymes (TRP-1) are providing valuable insights into the aging hair pigmentary unit. It is from these and other advances, including our ability to grow hair follicle melanocytes in vitro, that the possibility of reversing canities has been raised. Indeed, it is not too uncommon to see spontaneous repigmentation along the same individual hair shaft in early canities. Moreover, melanocytes taken from gray and white hair follicles can be induced to pigment in vitro. One of the surprising results of pigment loss in canities is the alteration in keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation, providing the tantalizing suggestion that melanocytes in the hair follicle contribute far more that packages of melanin alone. Furthermore, there have been some unconfirmed reports in the literature suggesting that canities may link (although not causally) with more systemic alterations in homeostasis e.g. osteoporosis. Here, we review the current state of knowledge of the development, regulation and control of the human hair follicle pigmentary unit during life.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Int J Trichology

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Int J Trichology

Journal ID (publisher-id): IJT

Title: International Journal of Trichology

Publisher: Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd (India )

ISSN (Print): 0974-7753

ISSN (Electronic): 0974-9241

Publication date (Print): Sep-Oct 2018

Volume: 10

Issue: 5

Pages: 211-217

Affiliations

[1]Department of Dermatology, SMGS Hospital, GMC, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India

Author notes

Address for correspondence: Dr. Devraj Dogra, Department of Dermatology, SMGS Hospital, GMC, Jammu - 180 001, Jammu and Kashmir, India. E-mail: devrajdogra5@ 123456gmail.com

Article

Publisher ID: IJT-10-211

DOI: 10.4103/ijt.ijt_39_18

PMC ID: 6290283

PubMed ID: 30607040

SO-VID: fe0c1d3e-4057-4fd8-bb96-810324c93b3e

License:

This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

Association of Epidemiological and Biochemical Factors with Premature Graying of Hair: A Case–Control Study

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Abstract

Background:

Materials and Methods:

Results:

Conclusion:

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Karger: Dermatology

Most cited references 32

Perceived Stress Scale: Reliability and Validity Study in Greece

Towards a "free radical theory of graying": melanocyte apoptosis in the aging human hair follicle is an indicator of oxidative stress induced tissue damage.

Graying: gerontobiology of the hair follicle pigmentary unit.

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