Cholesterol

Ask the doctor: Do statins cause hair loss?

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But if statins really caused hair loss, I think we'd hear more reports of it, given the millions of statin takers. It's more likely that you're losing your hair for a more common reason — another medication, a thyroid condition or other illness, or age-related changes in hormone levels. It's worth consulting your physician, who can check for these underlying conditions. If no other cause can be found for your hair loss, you could ask your clinician about stopping the statin for a few months. Or you could substitute another type of cholesterol-lowering drug (bile acid resins, nicotinic acid, fibric acid derivatives, or cholesterol absorption inhibitors) or just work harder on those lifestyle changes that we know can lower cholesterol: a low-fat diet, weight loss, and exercise.

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