Interesting story. Unfortunately the paper is not yet available from the Journal, so it is difficult to check specifics. However, from the news release it does not appear that the authors did an epidemiological study looking at individuals who smoked or suffered air pollution compared to those that didn’t. Instead they seem to have found evidence for oxygen radical damage to hair follicles in balding men and drawn the conclusion that pollution is to blame.
Given there is a well-known strong genetic predisposition to male pattern baldness, other factors are likely to be less important. There are several possibilities. One is that the genetic predisposition leads to hair follicles that are more sensitive to oxidative stress. This could cause hair loss to be faster in polluted environments compared to those that are not. However, it is unlikely as the news release seemed to suggest that living in a less polluted environment would stop hair loss.
Also, they don’t seem to have an idea of a mechanism. I await publication of the paper with some interest.
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"How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg." Abraham Lincoln
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