Young men embrace finasteride for hair loss sparking concerns about side effects
Finasteride is increasingly being used by younger men even before they start to lose their hair.
More young men are taking a medication to prevent hair loss, prompting some concerns that the oral drug has been linked to rare but potentially long-lasting side effects.
A report by Epic Research, conducted on behalf of NBC News, found that the number of men in the U.S. with finasteride prescriptions increased nearly 200% in the last seven years.
“It’s like water in my clinic,” said dermatologist Dr. Jerry Shapiro of NYU Langone Health. “I’m prescribing it all the time.”
While the Epic report looked at men 25 and older, Shapiro and other doctors say they are also seeing more young men seeking treatment at an earlier age, including some in their late teens looking to stop hair loss before it starts or gets worse.
Part of the rise in prescriptions could be linked to telemedicine companies such as Hims, Keeps and Ro that promote the drug on billboards and online ads, said Dr. Maria Colavincenzo, an associate professor of dermatology at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, who has been in practice for a decade.
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