Can I Inherit Balding or DUPA from My Great Grandfather?

Hi

I am a 17 old male and I recently realized that my hair is thinning. I believe my hairline has only receded a bit on the right side. The left is still a boxed NW1.

I have very little family history of MPB. My father is 48 with no visible signs of hair loss, my grandfathers both died with maybe slight temporal recession but nothing serious, but I had a great grandfather (paternal, grandmaternal) who lost his hair early (he might have started balding the same age as me as he was slick bald by 30). He only had hair in the back of his head/nape area (he completely lost the sides and there was a small gap between the ears and the hair), but that remained thick (as far as I can tell, there is a picture from the time when he was 40 and it is clearly visible that it’s not see through, but completely fine). Did he have DUPA?

Now I went to a hair specialist and he confirmed that there is early miniaturization (no vellus hairs yet) on the top of my head and also the sides, but the back area/ nape is completely fine, there is a clearly defined area where the hair is not miniaturizing. He put me on minox and told me that we should consider fin when I turn 18/20.

Could I inherit my balding from my great grandfather? Also will the back remain safe for the rest of my life or could it start miniaturizing? Is this DUPA or severe retrograde alopecia?

Thank you for your answers.

Genetic hair loss in men can be inherited from your father’s side or your mother’s side of the family, which means you could have inherited the gene from either of your grandfathers. It’s possible for the expression of the gene to skip generations.

I can’t tell you (no one can) that you’ll be “safe” with respect to balding. You need to find a doctor and possibly get a good serial measurements (hair bulk and miniaturization) to see if there is a pattern developing. A one time measurement doesn’t really mean much, unless there is an obvious pattern already. Taking a medication such as Propecia is something you need to discuss with your doctor if you indeed have MPB.

As for Diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA), it is less understood than MPB, and the inheritance and expression of this process genetically is presently unknown. I can’t tell you if you have DUPA without an examination and I certainly couldn’t tell you if your great grandfather did.