Male-pattern baldness tendency

A region on the X chromosome, near the genes that respond to male hormones, is the single strongest genetic signal for male-pattern baldness. Baldness is roughly 80% heritable and shaped by many genes, so this one marker captures only part of the picture.

Possible results

Higher baldness tendency. On the strongest single baldness marker you carry the higher-risk version (one copy if you're male, since this is on the X chromosome; two copies if you're female). On its own this nudges the odds of male-pattern hair thinning upward, but baldness is shaped by many genes plus age and hormones, so it's a tendency, not a guarantee.

Mixed / intermediate tendency. You carry one higher-risk and one lower-risk copy of this baldness marker (this mixed result only occurs in females, who have two X chromosomes). It places you in between for this single gene, and your overall hair outcome depends on many other genes and on hormones and age.

Lower baldness tendency (this marker). On this strongest single baldness marker you carry the lower-risk version (one copy if you're male, two if you're female). That's a favorable sign, but male-pattern baldness is about 80% heritable and driven by many genes, so this one marker can't rule it out and plenty of people with this result still thin over time.

Evidence & sources

This variant appears in 3 published genetic studies: PubMed 22032556 · PubMed 22693459 · PubMed 28196072.

Related

Body mass index · Eye color (blue, green/hazel, brown) · Freckling / sun sensitivity · Hair thickness / shovel-shaped incisors · Height · Muscle fiber type (power vs endurance) · Red hair / fair skin (MC1R gene)