Short, white men are more likely to go bald, according to a new study.
“It seems that men with a relatively shorter body height have a higher chance of losing their hair,” said University of Bonn professor Stefanie Heilmann-Heimbach, lead author of the study published Wednesday.
“Our data indicates that some of the genes involved in baldness are associated, on average, with shorter stature.”
Earlier research had already shown that men with so-called male pattern baldness are also statistically more likely to suffer from heart disease and prostate cancer, though the added risk is slight.
Reduced body size and early onset of puberty are also linked with loss of hair for men.
Some of the same genes that regulate human height, it seems, also play a role in the emergence of these conditions and diseases.
The study, published in Nature Communications, identified 63 genetic variations “that increase the risk of premature hair loss,” Heilmann-Heimbach said.