Hair Loss Patients Getting Younger
March 2011
About half of the patients who seek hospital treatment for hair loss
are now in their 20s and 30s, a report finds. Analysis of health
insurance hospital bills released by the National Health Insurance
Corporation on Sunday shows that people in their 20s and 30s
accounted for 48.4 percent of all 181,707 patients who received hair
loss treatment in 2009.
The 46,090 patients in their 30s accounted for 25.3 percent, and the
41,914 in their 20s for 23.1 percent. Some 37,278 or 20.5 percent
were in their 40s, and 21,046 or 11.6 percent in their 50s. Teens
accounted for 18,390 or 10.1 percent.
Patients with alopecia areata, where small circular patches of hair
fall out, topped the list with 137,000, followed by those with
scarring alopecia (22,000) and those with androgenetic alopecia or
male-pattern baldness (12,000).
Hair loss in young people is mainly caused by westernized eating
habits and stress, experts said.
Dermatologist Min Bok-ki said, "People are going through puberty
earlier because they eat a lot of meat and fast food, which causes
sexual hormones to be released prematurely. As a result men now
often start losing their hair in their 20s and 30s rather than in
their 40s and 50s."
Among women, excessive dieting also can cause hair loss.
Source
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