A new study of coronavirus victims has unearthed a stunning finding: bald men could be at greater risk of having serious coronavirus symptoms.
Professor Carlos Wambier, the lead author of the study, said he believes baldness is a ‘perfect predictor’ of the severity at which people will suffer from Covid-19.
The Brown University professor conducted two studies in Spain which found that a disproportionately high number of men with male pattern baldness were taken to hospital with coronavirus.
The first study found 71% of the 41 patients examined with Covid-19 in Spanish hospitals were bald, with the background rate of baldness for white men of a similar age to the patients between 31 and 53%.
The second study, which was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, found 79% of the 122 male coronavirus patients in Madrid hospitals were bald.
Scientists have argued androgens – male sex hormones – may contribute to hair loss and increase the ability of the coronavirus to attack cells.
That means hormone-suppressing drugs could potentially be used to slow Covid-19’s progress and allow sufferers time to recover.
Professor Wambier told the Telegraph: ‘We think androgens or male hormones are definitely the gateway for the virus to enter our cells.’
*Reported by UK Metro
