Diffuse Patterned Alopecia vs Male Pattern Baldness

Dear Dr,

I was wondering what the percentages are for DPA vs regular progression of male patterned baldness? I am 30 years old and have a norwood 2 or 3 pattern but most of the men in my family are bald to a large degree. Only my father has a complete head of hair.

Regards

I don’t have statistics directly comparing diffuse patterned alopecia (DPA) to male pattern baldness (MPB). We don’t get asked all that much about DPA here, so check out this link for more info.

Essentially… if you are balding from genetic causes, the hair can fall out without thinning in a specific pattern (DPA) or it can thin according to a specific pattern (MPB). In either case, the final pattern will be determined by your genes.

There is also a condition defined by us in the medical literature called diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA) which reflects that the hair all over the head shows miniaturization, including the sacred donor area that is usually genetically protected in men. Most genetic female hair loss appears similar to DUPA, in that it is diffuse and over the entirety of the scalp.