Mendelian Randomization Analysis of the Causal Relationship Between Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol, High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol, and Androgenic Alopecia

January 2026 in “ Medicine ”

MingShan Fu, PengYu Mai, Mingjing Zheng, WenChao Zhou, DongRui Zhao

androgenic alopecia low-density lipoprotein cholesterol high-density lipoprotein cholesterol LDL-C HDL-C Mendelian randomization AGA LDL HDL

This study used Mendelian randomization to explore the causal relationship between cholesterol levels and androgenic alopecia (AGA). It found a significant positive causal association between low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and AGA, with an odds ratio of 2.380, indicating that each unit increase in LDL-C levels raises the risk of developing AGA by 1.38 times. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) showed no significant association with AGA. These findings suggest that elevated LDL-C levels may increase the risk of AGA, while HDL-C does not appear to have a significant effect.

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