The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-06-03
WHY HAIR COMES OUT.
A CLINICAL STUDY or THREE HUN.
DRIED PRIVATE CASES.
Some differences Drawn From Them Bald.
ness More Frequent Among Men Than
women Intellectual Indoor work Tends 10
Lose Of Hair -Heredity Has Much to do
With 1t The Treatment suggested.

rrhe following Is par, OF a paper read by Df' O D.
Jackson before III. +. 0erican Chronological Asso-
citation on Mas /. 1901
In 1902 the subject of loss OF 1pir VAS d.
cussed by this association. following the read
ing Of a paper upon the subject y DR.. George
7. Elliot. In 1903 | published In the American
Medical and Surgical Bulletin a clinical study
Of one hundred private cases OF loss OF hair.
Both DR.. Elliot and l maintained the same
proposition namely. that a disease OF the scalp
varIously called seborrhqa. pityriasis. dandruff
seborrhpal eczema, or dermatitis. was the cause
Of a great majority Of the cases. In the present
study | have not endeavored TO touch upon
any pathological or meteorological question.
but have simply tried to find out what my elm
ical experience teaches. ] have chosen the
term loss Of hair rather than alopecia so that
II would be readily understood that badness
was not present in every case Most Of the
patients who consult us are losing thelr halr,
and have not lost II.
or the 800 cases cases a study OF which forms
the basis Of this paper, 1853 occurred In men and
i2 in women.
occupa,ions-of the men: Actor, 2; architect, 3;
banker, L. bookkceper, !; book binder. J; broker. v;
butcher, 2; clergyman, !, clerk; 20; commercial tray
2: grocer. !; gymnast. j. ho,elkeeptr. ]; lawyer, 5;
% .,,S.ns ; :; , %Hs!ei, n ,. :; Hsy'. /, ,ei, 40, Rain'eI
walter, !; not stated, 81 OF the women: Artist, 2.
clerk. ]; domestic, !; ~dressmAker. rloyer, J; house
keeper. SO: musician, 2, nurse, ); phl sician, J: proof
reader. /: reporter. /; student /; teacher. 4; uns'ated,
men and - women, or 81 in all. From twenty 70
thirty years. .! men and 50 women. OF IA In all.
81 in ali. From forty to MY years. 3 men and Il
women, or 20 10 all. Over MY years, 10 women.
50 The largest s.. n ,M1S,y Of Eases s. in any 1b. one D.I ysS srs wss
VAS is in The twenty second year. II is notable that
IL cases began under sixteen years OF age.
What lnterencss can be drawn IRON Theses
1t would seem at first glance that loss Of hair
was more common in men than in women, as
$50 is to li2. But | feel sure that the proportion
ie not altogether correct, because IL L. well
known that ONE value a good head Of hair
mich more than do men, They will do every
thing in their power to save their hair. Men
or will not take the time or trouble even 70 try
70 save their hair. 1t is therefore probable
that the statistics represent fairy Well ,the
prevalence Of loss OF hair among women; but
that they lnadeQuately represent the prevalence
OF loss Of hair among men, which Is doubuess
greater than they show. 1t can, then, be fairly
inferred That i loss Of hair is much more oSd fSEe g sSs
general impression without the aid OF STATISTICS,
We now come to the question: What infu-
ence. does occupation have in CAUSING loss OF
hair2 My statistics show a great variety OF
occupations among those who are losing their
hair. Two facts come out prominently, namely:
a. The great majority OF my patients lead
indoor lives. The 81 women put down as hav-
ing no occupation belong TO the leisure class
Of unmarried women and are housed most OF the
time. .lY Nearly all Of my patients belong
Of them are physicians does not necessarily
mean that physicians are specially prone to
loss OF hair any more than because Is 2-3 per
cent. OF them are houseksepers means that that
occupation specially tends to loss of hair, And
yet perhaps II does In both cases. The life OF
The physician and the housekeeper Is alike in
that their work Is never done and In that worry
and nerve strain are constant elements. II
We add together the actors, architects: ankers
brokers. housekeepers, lawyers, manufacturers.
ers ana sla nHrses; nny ali or ;x ilS8e9 oan ' fairly
be regarded as occupations in which the ele-
ments OF worry and nerve strain enter largely.
we have l55. or more than one-half OF our cases
subject to these influences, 1t may, then be
fairly inferred that an intellectual, indoor life.
specially when coupled with worry. and nerve
strain = a predisposins, II not a
Without doubt my statistics show that the
majority Of the cases Of loss of hair begin before
the thirt!eth year o. age, % per- cent, ,w rMTh ,Ss
twentieth and thirtieth years than in any othf
decade, the largest number in any one yea,
being 20 in the twenty-sixth year IL would
seem, then. that II one passes the ~thirtieth. year
Of age without showing sian ms OF incipient, bald.
ness, the chances for keeping the hair intact
are very much increased. This would seem to
apply specially to men, though here again comes
In the fact that married men care less about
their hair than do single. men. Here again,
also. the figures In regard TO the women, are
can infer that loss Of hair occurs with rapidly
decreasing frequency n the decades after thirty
years, as represented BY 80. I! and O.
acute febrile diseases causing defuvium capil-
lorim, which are not included In this study, we
have predisposing and exciting causes. ] be-
disposing cause Is heredity. We find that out Of
tory Of loss Of hair. Without doubt in many Of
other diseases heredity Is recognized as q pre-
disposinS factor, and Il cannot be lightly, set
n Ss' som NJ IA tie hair falls at an early age
without any discoverable cause In the scalp T.
self. The, to me. most interesting fact brought
now before you Is that the hereditary tendency
10 loss Of hair runs In sex. SO far az I know l am
the first to draw the attention q the profession
totn this and iI fatns %ii family ind that only ~s ssow 'h a
and 81 women: while when the mother and moth
s snd f :, WgS oeIy are %S Sen' e wss there the ts sfs r o %sS
while when It was the mother only who was
bald there are 5 men ana 10 wSmen ,sroro. ~
draw nom the al e that hserSedity Is a factor Of
marked influence; a strong predlsposing cause
Of loss Of hair At least 4 not In many Instances
"A glance over the list. Of Complaining dis;
eases noted IN 1872 cases shows that they are all
disorder; that affect the general rene, I'm nutrition Sdtt av Of the
thiaes with the general nutrition Of the BODY
falling out after fevers and the like. 80.
ne. As ss sao n sIl i ~ case. ss s iSss Of d, ssar we ., t ths s ,n 70
there was dandruI. use ths term 70 include
both pityr,asi, and seb0rrhoa sicca, both for nr
Flliot's statistics the proportion OF dandr1ln