{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T14:52:48Z","timestamp":1779202368978,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,27]],"date-time":"2026-01-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769472000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Premature graying of the hair (PMGH), commonly referred to as canities, is a condition that has both genetic and environmental causes, all of which are not fully understood, and is typically accompanied by severe psychological distress. Studies are limited regarding PMGH, with no clear guidelines available. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during the academic year 2023\u20132024 among medical students in a college in Saudi Arabia. Results: Out of 239 medical students surveyed (mean age of 22.9 \u00b1 5.3 years; 54.4% female), the prevalence of premature graying of hair (PMGH) was 37.2%. PMGH was significantly associated with smoking (80% vs. 34.8%; p = 0.003), keto diet (72.7% vs. 35.5%; p = 0.013), hair coloring (51.2% vs. 34.3%; p = 0.042), and family history of PMGH (47.7% vs. 20%; p = 0.001). Although our study did not directly measure psychological stress, the findings suggest that stressful factors and lifestyle changes common among medical students may contribute to the development of premature graying of hair. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that early hair graying is caused by both genetic and modifiable factors, and its incidence and psychosocial effects might be lessened with increased awareness and early lifestyle changes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina62020268","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,27]],"date-time":"2026-01-27T15:41:56Z","timestamp":1769528516000},"page":"268","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["A Cross-Sectional Study on the Prevalence of Premature Canities Among University Students in the Eastern Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"62","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0874-9003","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Heba Y.","family":"Alojail","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology, King Faisal University, College of Medicine, Al-Ahsa 36362, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8914-282X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Irshad","family":"Ahmad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Bioengineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"Interdisciplinary Research Center for Membranes and Water Security, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0292-1976","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Feroze","family":"Kaliyadan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Ponekkara, Kochi 682024, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"457","article-title":"The degree of premature hair graying as an independent risk marker for coronary artery disease: A predictor of biological age rather than chronological age","volume":"12","author":"Kocaman","year":"2012","journal-title":"Anatol. 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J."}],"container-title":["Medicina"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1648-9144\/62\/2\/268\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,27]],"date-time":"2026-01-27T16:11:03Z","timestamp":1769530263000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1648-9144\/62\/2\/268"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,27]]},"references-count":19,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]}},"alternative-id":["medicina62020268"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/medicina62020268","relation":{},"ISSN":["1648-9144"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1648-9144","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,27]]}}}