125 Perception of Men with Androgenetic Alopecia by Women and Nonbalding Men

HJ Lee1, SJ Ha1, D Kim2, HO Kim1, JW Kim1. Dept. of Dermatology1 and Biostatistics2, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea

Male pattern hair loss has significant negative psychosocial effects. It has been asserted that the negative effect of AGA is often trivialized by those not affected by it, and most studies concerning the perception of balding have focused on the effects on the patients. In this study, we assessed the perception of balding men by others. A questionnaire on the perception of balding men was answered in 90 nonbalding and 30 balding men and 130 women. Balding men were perceived as being older and less attractive in over 90% of the total subjects. However, a perception of being less confident, duller, and less potent was reported by less than half of the subjects. A perception of looking less attractive was significantly more common in women than nonbalding men (p<0.05). A perception of less confidence was significantly more common in balding men than nonbalding men (p<0.05). The perception of men with AGA by others was similar to the psychosocial effects reported by the patients themselves. This suggests that AGA can significantly influence social interactions.