Relation of urinary stone disease with androgenetic alopecia and serum testosterone levels

Low serum testosterone is associated with an increased risk of first-time renal calculi in men without testosterone replacement therapy

The incidence of low serum testosterone has been increasing in men of all ages across a period which also corresponds to an increasing prevalence of kidney stones. Currently, the relationship between testosterone and kidney stones is unclear. Using the TriNetX Research Network, we performed a retrospective cohort study to evaluate the risk of developing an initial kidney stone in men based on their total testosterone level. Men aged ≥18 were divided into a low testosterone (<300 ng/dL) and normal testosterone (≥ 300 ng/dL) cohort. Men were excluded if they had a history of a kidney stone encounter diagnosis before testosterone measurement and a history of testosterone therapy prescription at any point. Propensity score matching was employed with an absolute standardized mean difference of less than 0.1 used as an indicator of successful matching. Our main outcome of interest was risk of developing an initial kidney stone in men aged ≥18 and within age-based subgroups. In men 18 and older, low testosterone was associated with a higher risk of one or more kidney stone encounter diagnoses (HR 1.12, 95% CI [1.09-1.15]). When stratified by age, no significant association between low testosterone and kidney stone encounter diagnoses was seen in men aged 18-24 (HR 1.09, 95% CI [0.85-1.39]). The highest risk was observed in men with low testosterone aged 34-44 (HR 1.29, 95% CI [1.17-1.38]). In this study, low serum testosterone was associated with an increased risk of initial kidney stone diagnosis in adult men without testosterone therapy prescriptions at any point in their life. Stratifying by age, the increased risk appears to begin in men aged 25, with the highest observed risk in men aged 33-44.

Comorbidities in Androgenetic Alopecia: A Comprehensive Review

Androgenetic alopecia is the most common form of hair loss, affecting 85% of men and 40% of women. Androgenetic alopecia is a disease caused by multiple factors, such as genetics, hormones, and systemic diseases; however, the exact cause remains undetermined. Recent studies have found that it is associated with a high incidence of endocrine diseases and other comorbidities. It may not only be a skin disease but also an early signal of underlying systemic diseases. Effective management requires timely diagnosis and treatment initiation. However, in current clinical practice, androgenetic alopecia is still not fully understood or treated. Recognizing the true physical, social, and emotional burden of androgenic alopecia, as well as its associated comorbidities, is the first step in improving the prognosis of affected patients. This review aimed to gather the known pathological factors and provide a reference for clinical physicians to understand androgenetic alopecia and its comorbidities in depth, thereby enabling early recognition of the underlying systemic diseases and providing timely treatment.

Association between Androgenetic Alopecia and Psychosocial Disease Burden: A Cross-Sectional Survey among Polish Men

A decline in quality of life in men with androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is frequently reported, so we aimed to evaluate the psychosocial burden related to AGA in Polish male patients with AGA. We enrolled 75 adult patients with AGA. The study was conducted in an outpatient dermatology clinic in Poland. Each participant answered 23 dedicated questions about demographic data, history of the disease, and a psychosocial condition. Overall, 38.7% of patients did not notice any impact of AGA on their contact with other people or activity in their free time; 50.7% of patients observed little or no effect on their relationship with their partner; 60% of patients often or sometimes felt embarrassed by their baldness (mainly those aged 18–25 years; p=0.002); 66.7% of patients reported a rather large negative impact on their self-esteem; and 81.3% of patients sometimes experienced stress in everyday life. We conclude that AGA impairs the emotional condition and social functioning of men of all ages, but particularly of younger men. Broader interventions should be planned to allow access to a psychological and psychosocial support, starting treatment at an early stage of the disease, and involving family physicians in the treatment of AGA.

Relationship Between Serum Testosterone Levels and Kidney Stones Prevalence in Men

BACKGROUND

The role of serum testosterone levels in male renal stone formation remains controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum testosterone levels and kidney stone prevalence in males.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study based on the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2016, which included 6,633 male participants, to investigate the association between testosterone levels and the prevalence of kidney stones.

RESULTS

In this study, using the highest quartile of serum testosterone as a reference, a logistic regression model adjusted for confounders in all participants showed that the first quartile (OR: 1.375, p = 0.016), the second quartile (OR: 1.348, p = 0.021), and the third quartile (OR: 1.472, p = 0.003) of testosterone significantly increased kidney stone risks. In the 41-60 age group, the ORs of kidney stone risk in the first, second, and third of serum testosterone were 1.904 (P = 0.005), 1.599 (P = 0.040), and 1.734 (P = 0.015), respectively. This trend can also be found in the 61-80-year group, except in the first quartile of serum testosterone (OR: 1.169, P = 0.436). Adjusted smoothed curves suggest a non-linear relationship between the 8 quantiles of serum testosterone and the risk of kidney stones in all participants and the 61-80 age group and a significant negative relationship in the 41-60 age group (OR: 0.921, P = 0.0193). But no correlation was seen in the 20-40 group.

CONCLUSIONS

Serum testosterone levels were significantly inversely associated with the prevalence of kidney stones in men over 40 years of age, but no correlation was seen in the 20-40 group. The role of testosterone in stone formation should be redefined, and its effect should be further verified.

Trends in the prevalence of kidney stones in the United States from 2007 to 2016

The overall prevalence of kidney stones (KS) in the US rose from 3.2% in 1980 to 10.1% in 2016, but the trends in important subgroups have not been reported. We examined the prevalence trends of KS in subgroups of age, sex and race in the US and identified relevant laboratory factors associated with a history of KS using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data. We conducted a cross-sectional study among 28,209 US adults aged ≥ 20 years old in the NHANES from 2007 to 2016. We calculated the prevalence of a self-reported history of KS by using weights and standardized to the 2010 US Census population. We also compared relevant laboratory values according to the history of KS. The prevalence of KS decreased from 8.7% in 2007-2008 to 7.2% in 2011-2012 but then increased to 9.0% in 2013-2014 and 10.1% in 2015-2016. However, the overall prevalence of KS increased over 2007-2016 (p-trend = 0.02). Prevalence of KS among men was higher than women. Among men aged 20-79, there were significant quadratic trends in the prevalence of KS. Whereas, the prevalence of KS increased as a linear trend among women aged 20-59 years over 2007-2016. There were no consistent trends in the prevalence of KS by race. The prevalence trend of KS among non-Hispanic whites was 9.8% from 2007 to 2010 then dropped to 7.9% in 2011-2012 and increased to 10.6% in 2013-2014 and 12.1% in 2015-2016. A similar trend was also observed among non-Hispanic blacks. Among Hispanic, the prevalence of KS was 7.6% in 2007-2008 and 7.4% in 2009-2010 and then fluctuated over the next several time periods. For non-Hispanic Asians, the range was 4.4-4.6%. Regarding relevant laboratory factors, after adjusting for sex, race, age, BMI, smoking status, alcohol drinking, history of diabetes and gout, urine albumin-creatinine ratio and serum osmolality were independently associated with the history of KS in women and men. In conclusion, there was substantial variability in KS prevalence across individual 2-year time periods. This variation of period-specific prevalence values emphasizes the importance of looking at long-term trends and using more than a single 2-year cycle in analyses to increase the precision of the estimate. However, there was an overall increase in the prevalence of KS over 2007-2016.

Effect of Behavioral Factors on Severity of Female Pattern Hair Loss: An Ordinal Logistic Regression Analysis

Background: Female pattern hair loss (FPHL) is one of the most common types of hair loss with complex genetic predisposition. A frontal pattern hair loss with ponytail hairstyle is pervasively seen among young Chinese women. The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between the severity of FPHL and behavioral factors which include dietary, and sleep habits, and to test the hypothesis on whether ponytail hairstyle is an independent factor that increases the risks of being more severe on the FPHL scale. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed with a structured questionnaire in this study. The severity of FPHL was graded according to basic and specific (BASP) classifications. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the factors related to the severity of FPHL. Results: 1,825 participants with different severities of FPHL completed the questionnaire. Ordinal logistic regression analysis revealed that the age group between thirty and forty years (OR:2.03, 95% CI: 1.56,2. 65), insufficient time with poor quality (OR:1.30, 95% CI: 1.05,1.62), presence of alcohol consumption (OR:2.15, 95% CI: 1.14,4.42), ponytail hairstyles (OR:2.03, 95% CI: 1.40,2.96), and oily scalps (OR:2.00, 95% CI: 1.65,2.43) were risk factors which increased the odds of being in the more severe type of FPHL, compared to the age group that ranged from eighteen to thirty years, sufficient sleep with good quality, without alcohol consumption, ponytail hairstyles, and oily scalps. Conclusion: Avoiding alcohol consumption and ponytail hairstyles, in combination with proper control of scalp oil, improve sleep quality with sufficient time may help prevent FPHL from deteriorating to the more severe type.