For most men, it beats becoming bald. Others think it makes them look “distinguished.” But a group of scientists from Cairo University in Egypt believe that gray hair may be a harbinger of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in men.

We have known that atherosclerosis – the so-called 'hardening of the arteries' – and graying hair have the same root cause. Both can be traced to the deterioration of our DNA that accompanies aging and increased oxidative stress. What's new here is the notion that the amount of gray hair in adult men is correlated with an increased risk of CVD.

The researchers gathered data from 545 adult men who were suspected of having atherosclerosis. They used computed tomography coronary angiography to confirm whether or not the subjects had CVD, and then divided the men into groups based upon the presence of the disease and hair color.

The scientists graded the level of gray hair using the following scale: 1 for pure black hair, 2 for more black hair than white, 3 for an equal amount of black and white hair, 4 for more white hair than black hair, and 5 for pure white hair. Each test subject was evaluated by two independent observers and received a “hair whitening score.”

Additionally, the scientists gathered data on the participants' risk factors for CVD, such as hypertension, smoking, diabetes, high blood cholesterol levels and a family history of CVD.

The results were pretty straightforward: The researchers observed that age, hair whitening grade, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol levels all predicted atherosclerotic coronary artery disease independently.

"Atherosclerosis and hair graying occur through similar biological pathways and the incidence of both increases with age. Our findings suggest that, irrespective of chronological age, hair graying indicates biological age and could be a warning sign of increased cardiovascular risk,” said study co-author Dr. Irini Samuel.

What can you do? As always, get regular checkups if you exhibit any of the outward signs of CVD, and consider adding graying hair to that warning list.

"Further research is needed, in coordination with dermatologists, to learn more about the causative genetic and possible avoidable environmental factors that determine hair whitening," she says. "A larger study including men and women is required to confirm the association between hair graying and cardiovascular disease in patients without other known cardiovascular risk factors."

"If our findings are confirmed," Dr. Samuel concludes, "standardization of the scoring system for evaluation of hair graying could be used as a predictor for coronary artery disease."

The research was presented at Europrevent 2017.