Ear-Canal Hair and the Ear-Lobe Crease as Predictors for Coronary-Artery Disease

Richard F. Wagner, Howard B. Reinfeld, Karen Dineen Wagner, Anthony T. Gambino, Thomas A. Falco, Jerry A. Sokol, Stanley Katz, Steven M. Zeldis

Research output: Contribution to journalLetterpeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

To the Editor: The ear-lobe crease has been demonstrated to be significantly associated with coronary-artery disease in specific populations.1 Patterns of hair growth have previously been suspected as possible risk factors for coronary-artery disease.2,3 We investigated both the ear-lobe crease and ear-canal hair — the presence of one or more terminal hairs growing on the tragus or antitragus or from the external acoustic meatus (Fig. 1) — in 43 men and 20 women (36 to 76 years of age; mean, 56.3) who underwent coronary cineangiography. Coronary-artery disease was defined as a 50 percent or greater luminal narrowing of one.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1317-1318
Number of pages2
JournalNew England Journal of Medicine
Volume311
Issue number20
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 15 1984
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

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