Gender differences in axial hair strength may explain gender related incidence variation in Pilonidal Sinus patients

Dettmer, M; Schumacher, F; Matevossian, E; Wilhelm, D; Luedi, MM; Doll, D (2021). Gender differences in axial hair strength may explain gender related incidence variation in Pilonidal Sinus patients. Pilonidal Sinus Journal, 7(1), pp. 11-20. Australian Pilonidal Sinus Society

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ABSTRACT
Background: Pilonidal sinus disease is a disease of mostly young people with male preponderance and caused by ingrowth of cut head hair. We wondered if the gender difference in Pilonidal Sinus Disease (PSD) incidence of this disease was due to hair characteristics. To aim was to investigate the gender specific hair strength characteristics, linked to standardized PSD incidence.

Methods: We analysed the axial strength of human head hair of a northern German healthy population. Standardised gender different PSD disease incidences were computed with raw data provided from the German Institut of Statistics and Health data.
Results: Hair from females (n=150) and males (n=150) was analysed. Male axial hair force (1.59g +/- 0.9g) is significantly different from female axial hair force (1.25g +/- 0.76g; p=0.002). Male hair strength exceeds female hair strength by the factor of 1.2. During 2000 and 2017, male standardized PSD incidence exceeds female standardized PSD incidence by a factor of mean 3.1 in Germany. During that observational period, PSD incidence rose by 40% in Germany.

Conclusion: A higher pilonidal incidence in males is paralleled with stronger axial hair force in males, as compared to females. Hair strength aka. axial hair force may thus be the major factor in gender specific differences between males and females. May be worthwhile testing if softening the hair could avoid PSD as a preventive method.

Key words: hair, axial hair force, pilonidal sinus, incidence, prevention, gender specific differences

ISSN: 2207-7537

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