Parents
The idea that male pattern baldness is passed on by the mother's side of the family because of the X chromosome appears to have been dispelled by recent research that suggests more complex causes. The study blaming it on the person's mother was done in 1916 and based on only 22 families. Further studies show that baldness in men on both the mother's or father's side of the family is linked to a higher chance of developing baldness. A gene called the androgen receptor was discovered to be associated with male baldness by receiving signals from the male hormone testosterone in a 2001 study by researchers at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. The study looked at more than 1,200 men with different degrees of baldness. Of the 54 bald men less than 30 years of age, only one did not carry the gene marker. More than 90 percent of men between ages 40 and 70 carried the androgen receptor.
Genes
Researchers believe the androgen receptor gene is just one part of the baldness process, but not the cause. All the genes responsible for male pattern baldness have not yet been identified, says Dr. Richard Lee, who heads Regrowth, a research and treatment center for hair loss. Heredity does influence the age of onset, the rate of progression and the pattern of baldness. The earlier the onset of balding the more extensive it will eventually be. Several genes related to inheritance appear to be responsible for baldness, Lee says. The chances of baldness increase with the number of affected close relatives and by either or both parents.
Hormones
Male pattern baldness is far more common than hair loss in women because females have lower levels of androgens, which are male hormones, according to VirtualHairCare, a hair care website in Australia. Women may have female pattern thinning of the hair. Medications and medical conditions can also cause hair loss for both men and women. But the best way for a young man to know if he is going to have some kind of baldness is to look at his father and maternal or paternal grandfather. The genes that determine other factors of your life, including hair or eye color, may also play a role in determining baldness. Those same genes will predict how early you lose your hair and how much.
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