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Comparison of quality of life in patients with androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata

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Background: Androgenetic alopecia is one of the most common forms of hair loss. Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune disorder which causes hair loss. It has been previously reported that both alopecia disorders can have negative effects on quality of life. However, only a few studies have compared the effects of the two disorders. Objective: The aim is to show the impact of alopecia on patients' quality of life and compare patients with androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata. Methods: 82 androgenetic alopecia and 56 alopecia areata patients were recruited. All patients were evaluated with the Hairdex scale and dermatology quality of life instrument in Turkish (TQL), and the scores were statistically compared according to age, sex, employment and education status, and severity of illness in the two groups. Also, female patients were statistically evaluated according to whether they wore headscarves. Results: Androgenetic alopecia patients had significantly higher total Hairdex scores in terms of emotions, functioning, and symptoms, while self-confidence was significantly higher in the alopecia areata patients. No significant differences were found in stigmatization or TQL scores between groups. The Hairdex scale and TQL scores did not show differences between the groups in terms of wearing headscarves. Study limitations: The validity and reliability of the Hairdex index have not been established in Turkey. Conclusions: Based on the Hairdex scale, our findings revealed that androgenetic alopecia patients are more affected by their disorder than alopecia areata patients. Although androgenetic alopecia is common and neither life-threatening nor painful, it is a stressful disorder with increased need for improvement in the patient's quality of life.
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651
investigAtion
Comparison of quality of life in patients with androgenetic alopecia
and alopecia areata*
Muzeyyen Gonul1, Bengu Cevirgen Cemil1, Havva Hilal Ayvaz1, Eylem Cankurtaran2, Can Ergin1
Mehmet Salih Gurel3
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/abd1806-4841.20186131
Abstract: BaCkground: Androgenetic alopecia is one of the most common forms of hair loss. Alopecia areata is a common
autoimmune disorder which causes hair loss. It has been previously reported that both alopecia disorders can have negative
effects on quality of life. However, only a few studies have compared the effects of the two disorders.
oBjeCtive: The aim is to show the impact of alopecia on patients’ quality of life and compare patients with androgenetic alo-
pecia and alopecia areata.
Methods: 82 androgenetic alopecia and 56 alopecia areata patients were recruited. All patients were evaluated with the Hair-
dex scale and dermatology quality of life instrument in Turkish (TQL), and the scores were statistically compared according to
age, sex, employment and education status, and severity of illness in the two groups. Also, female patients were statistically
evaluated according to whether they wore headscarves.
results: Androgenetic alopecia patients had significantly higher total Hairdex scores in terms of emotions, functioning, and
symptoms, while self-confidence was significantly higher in the alopecia areata patients. No significant differences were found
in stigmatization or TQL scores between groups. The Hairdex scale and TQL scores did not show differences between the
groups in terms of wearing headscarves.
study liMitations: The validity and reliability of the Hairdex index have not been established in Turkey.
ConClusions: Based on the Hairdex scale, our findings revealed that androgenetic alopecia patients are more affected by their
disorder than alopecia areata patients. Although androgenetic alopecia is common and neither life-threatening nor painful, it
is a stressful disorder with increased need for improvement in the patient’s quality of life.
Keywords: Alopecia; Alopecia areata; Female; Male; Quality of life
s
Received 07 June 2016.
Accepted 04 June 2017.
* Work conducted at the Department of Dermatology, University of Health Sciences, Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Financial support: None.
Conflict of interest: None.
1 Department of Dermatology, University of Health Sciences, Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
2 Department of Psychiatry, University of Health Sciences, Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
3 Department of Dermatology, University of Istanbul Medeniyet, Istanbul, Turkey.
Mailing address:
Bengu Cevirgen Cemil
E-mail: dbcemil@yahoo.com
©2018 by Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia
INTRODUCTION
Hair loss is a worldwide problem. Androgenetic alopecia
(AGA) is a common hair loss disorder with a genetic predisposition
that can occur in both sexes and at any age after puberty.1 AGA is
biologically benign and is not a disease in the conventional sense.2
Alopecia areata (AA) is characterized by sudden onset hair
loss in well-circumscribed round/oval patches without scarring. In
severe cases, hair loss can involve the entire scalp (alopecia totalis)
or body (alopecia universalis).3
An Bras Dermatol. 2018;93(5):651-8.
652 Gonul M, Cemil BC, Ayvaz HH, Cankurtaran E, Ergin C, Gurel MS
An Bras Dermatol. 2018;93(5):651-8.
A Turkish QOL instrument (TQL)
Select the answer that best describes your situation in the last month, for each of the following questions. If the question is not
related to your condition, you may simply mark the option “never = not at all”. The information you give here is for research and
will not be used for any other purpose. Your participation is greatly appreciated
1. Do you feel uncomfortable, frustrated, or stressed because of your skin disease?
a) Always
b) Often
c) Sometimes
d) Rarely
e) Never = Not at all
2. Do you feel that your physical appearance has deteriorated due to your skin disease, and do you look in the mirror too often or
avoid looking in the mirror entirely?
a) Always
b) Often
c) Sometimes
d) Rarely
e) Never = Not at all
3. Does your skin disease prevent you from doing household chores and negatively affect your school and/or work life?
a) Always
b) Often
c) Sometimes
d) Rarely
e) Never = Not at all
4. Do you feel uncomfortable when people in the community ask you about your skin condition, reminding you of the disease?
a) Always
b) Often
c) Sometimes
d) Rarely
e) Never = Not at all
5. Because of your skin disease, do you avoid your friends or refrain from attending social situations?
a) Always
b) Often
c) Sometimes
d) Rarely
e) Never = Not at all
6. Have problems from your skin disease (like bleeding, wounds, pain, itching, patches) limited your daily life?
a) Always
b) Often
c) Sometimes
d) Rarely
e) Never = Not at all.
7. Do you think people stay away or avoid close contact with you (such as shaking hands or kissing) because of your skin disease?
Do you avoid people for this reason?
a) Always
b) Often
c) Sometimes
d) Rarely
e) Never = Not at all
8. Has your sex life been affected because of your skin disease?
a) Always
b) Often
c) Sometimes
d) Rarely
e) Never = Not at all
9. Do you get desperate thinking that your skin disease will never improve or will relapse?
a) Always
b) Often
c) Sometimes
d) Rarely
e) Never = Not at all
10. When treating your skin disease, have you ever thought that you are just wasting time and money?
a) Always
b) Often
c) Sometimes
d) Rarely
e) Never = Not at all
11. Does your skin disease keep you from eating what you want, getting dressed, grooming, or bathing?
a) Always
b) Often
c) Sometimes
d) Rarely
e) Never = Not at all
charT 1: Dermatology QoL instrument in Turkish (TQL)
Comparison of quality of life in patients with androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata 653
Hair is an important component of identity and self-image.
Hair loss can lead to a variety of psychological difficulties and have
a negative impact on quality of life (QoL).2,4 Loss of self-confidence,
lowered self-esteem, and heightened self-consciousness are com-
mon responses to hair loss, particularly for women.5,6 People with
alopecia are more likely to develop depression and anxiety.5
AA and AGA patients were evaluated separately with dif-
ferent dermatology-specific questionnaires to assess QoL. However,
these two diseases did not compare with the hair-specific QoL in-
dex.1,2,4-6 The main aim of this study was to assess QoL in patients
with AA or AGA according to the Hairdex and Dermatology QoL
instrument in Turkish (TQL), and to compare these results between
the two groups (Chart 1).
METHODS
Study Design and Patients
The protocol for this study was approved by the Research
Ethics Committee of the Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Educational and
Research Hospital, and informed consent was obtained from all of
the patients.
Eighty-two patients with AGA and 56 patients with AA that
were seen at the dermatology outpatient clinic were included in this
study. Additional inclusion criteria for the study group were age
greater than 18 years, literacy, and absence of psychiatric disorders.
Demographic and clinical data were collected on each patient. Age,
gender, educational status, profession, duration of disease, and se-
verity of disease were recorded. In male and female AGA patients,
Hamilton Norwood scale and Ludwig scale, respectively, were used
to estimate disease severity. In AA patients, disease severity was cat-
egorized as follows: focal, multifocal (one part), multifocal (more
than one part), or alopecia totalis. Alopecia universalis patients
were excluded.
Patients were evaluated for their QoL using the TQL and
Hairdex scales. TQL consists of 11 questions, each related to a dif-
ferent aspect of skin disease (social, emotional, cognitive, sex life,
daily activity, and symptoms) and QoL.7 Answers were scored from
0 to 4 according to the grading system. The maximum score was
44, and higher scores indicated lower quality of life. Hairdex is an
instrument developed to measure QoL in patients with disorders of
the hair and scalp. The scale includes questions in five categories:
a) emotions; b) functioning; c) symptoms; d) self-confidence; and e)
stigmatization. Answers were graded from 0 to 4 by the subjects ac-
cording to the frequency with which they occurred. Higher subscale
scores for emotions, functions, symptoms, and stigmatization indi-
cate more adverse effects on QoL, but a lower score on the self-con-
fidence subscale suggests lower self-confidence or more adverse
effect on QoL.8-11
TQL and Hairdex scores obtained in the AGA and AA
groups were compared statistically. Scores were compared accord-
ing to age, sex, employment status, schooling, and severity of disor-
der in the two groups. Also, female patients were statistically evalu-
ated according to whether they wore headscarves.
Statistical Analysis
SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version
16.0) was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics for vari-
ables were expressed as means ± standard deviations. The indepen-
dent sample t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient, chi-square test,
and ANOVA were used to analyze AGA and AA patient data. A
p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant for
all the analyses.
RESULTS
Of the 82 AGA patients, 52 were female (63.4%) and 30
(36.6%) were male. Of the AA 56 patients, there were 25 females
(44.6%) and 31 males (55.4%). Mean ages were 30.13 ± 11.10 years
for AGA patients and 29.34 ± 8.13 years for AA patients. Duration of
disease was 37.68 ± 35.77 months and 44.30 ± 73.41 months for AGA
and AA, respectively. There were no statistically significant differ-
ences in age, duration of disease, or schooling between AGA and
AA patients. Table 1 shows the main clinical characteristics.
Patients with AGA had significantly higher total Hairdex
and Hairdex subgroup scores in terms for emotions, functioning,
and symptoms, while the difference in stigmatization was not statis-
tically significant. However, self-Confidence was significantly lower
in AGA patients (Table 2). No significant differences were found in
TQL scores between the two groups (Table 2). In patients with AGA,
no statistically significant differences were found in total Hairdex,
Hairdex subgroup scores, and TQL scores according to sex, employ-
ment, or schooling (Table 3). In female patients with AGA, elevated
scores of Hairdex subgroup for symptoms were seen with increas-
ing Ludwig stages (Figure 1). Meanwhile, lower Hairdex subgroup
scores for symptoms were associated with higher Hamilton stages
in male patients with AGA (Figure 2).
Total Hairdex and Hairdex subgroup scores for emotions
and symptoms were significantly higher in female patients with AA
(Table 3). There was no statistically significant difference in Hairdex
scores of AA group according to schooling. In addition, statistically
higher Hairdex subgroup scores for emotions, functioning, stigma-
tization, and self-confidence, total Hairdex, and TQL scores were
seen in AA patients with increasing disease severity. Unemployed
patients with AA had higher total Hairdex and Hairdex subgroup
scores for emotions, functioning, and symptoms. Meanwhile, em-
ployed patients with AA scored higher in the Hairdex subgroup for
self-confidence (Table 4).
AGA and AA patients were divided into two groups based
on age in years (Group 1: 18-28 and Group 2: 29+). In AGA and AA
patients, there was no statistically significant difference between
younger and older patients according to total Hairdex, Hairdex sub-
groups, or TQL.
In AGA patients, there was no statistically significant correla-
tion between duration of disease and Hairdex or TQL scores. Mean-
while, there was a positive correlation between duration of disease
and scores in terms of total Hairdex and Hairdex subgroup scores
for emotions, functioning, symptoms, and stigmatization, and TQL
scores in AA patients. Interestingly, the results showed a negative
correlation between duration of disease and self-confidence (Table 5).
Hairdex scale and TQL scores showed no difference be-
tween the groups in female patients according to wearing head-
scarves.
An Bras Dermatol. 2018;93(5):651-8.
654 Gonul M, Cemil BC, Ayvaz HH, Cankurtaran E, Ergin C, Gurel MS
Table 1: Patients’ main clinical characteristics
AGA AA
Female Male Female Male
Number of patients 52 30 25 31
Age (mean±standard deviation) 33.98±11.64 23.47±5.79 30.48±7.95 28.42±8.29
Duration of disease in months
(mean±standard deviation)
39.15±37.65 35.13±32.72 61.52±70.88 30.42±73.58
Schooling
(number of patients)
Elementary 24 1 9 11
Secondary 15 17 7 15
University 13 12 9 5
Employment status
(number of patients)
Student 9 15 8 5
Employed 10 14 9 24
Unemployed 33 1 8 2
Headscarves
(number of patients)
With 27 10
Without 25 15
Severity of
disease (number
of patients)
Ludwig 1 2
238
312
Hamilton 1 6
29
2a 1
35
3a 3
3 vertex 4
5a 1
6 1
AA Focal 11 6
Multifocal (one part) 2 7
Multifocal
(more than one part)
9 17
Alopecia totalis 3 1
Table 2: Comparison of AGA and AA patients’ Hairdex and TQL scores
AGA AA p-value
Mean Standard Deviation Mean Standard Deviation
Total Hairdex 68.43 31.58 57.02 27.03 0.025
Emotions 34.45 20.21 24.42 16.99 0.002
Functions 5.71 4.07 3.95 3.40 0.007
Symptoms 8.85 6.64 6.67 5.02 0.031
Self-condence 13.82 6.81 17.36 7.28 0.005
Stigmatization 5.60 6.13 4.65 5.97 0.372
TQL 14.69 10.15 13.54 9.85 0.506
DISCUSSION
Alopecia is a common dermatological condition. It is typi-
cally viewed as a benign process with mostly cosmetic consequenc-
es. However, the psychological and psychosocial impact of hair loss
can be significant. Over the centuries, hair has always been consid-
ered a sign of beauty and health. Scalp hair is a human characteristic
that conveys aspects of identity, self-image, and ethnicity. Western
culture, in particular, places a premium on physical appearance.
Therefore, appearance-altering conditions such as alopecia can be
psychosocially distressing. Hair loss gives rise to lower personal
An Bras Dermatol. 2018;93(5):651-8.
Comparison of quality of life in patients with androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata 655
FIgure 1: Symptom scores of female AGA patients
according to Ludwig stages
FIgure 2: Symptom scores of male AGA patients
according to Hamilton stages
attractiveness, negative self-esteem, fear of growing old, and neg-
ative repercussions on social life.12-14 Therefore, QoL assessment has
become increasingly important, and many different indices that are
generally assessed by self-report questionnaires are used to evalu-
ate the effects of the disease on QoL.15,16
Quality of life has been evaluated previously using differ-
ent scales in both AGA and AA patients, and it has been reported
that these diseases impact QoL negatively.10,17
Fischer et al. developed the Hairdex score as a tool for
evaluation of disease-specific quality of life in patients with hair
disorders. It consists of a 48-item questionnaire with hair-specif-
ic questions, and it allows assessing the effects of hair conditions
in different categories such as functioning, symptoms, emotions,
self-confidence, and stigmatization.8,18
Only a few publications have assessed QoL in alopecia pa-
tients using the Hairdex score.8-11 According to Schmidt et al., who
evaluated 50 female patients with diffuse alopecia and AGA by Hair-
dex, diffuse hair loss had a negative impact on functioning, emotion,
self-confidence, and stigmatization.9 Sawant N et al. evaluated QoL
between two age groups of males with AGA and reported that the
older age group had worse functioning, more symptoms, and higher
stigmatization scores. However, emotional subscales appeared to be
more affected in the younger age group. In addition, the younger
age group was significantly more self-assured.10 In this study, AGA
and AA patients were divided into two age groups, and there was
no statistically significant difference between the two groups in total
Hairdex, Hairdex subgroups, or TQL according to age.
Symptom
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3
Ludwig
Hamilton
Symptom
Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 2a Stage 3 Stage 6Stage 3a Stage 5a
Stage 3
vertex
An Bras Dermatol. 2018;93(5):651-8.
Table 3: Comparison of AGA and AA patients’ Hairdex and TQL scores according to gender
AGA AA
Female Male p-
value
Female Male p-
value
Mean Standard
Deviation
Mean Standard
Deviation
Mean Standard
Deviation
Mean Standard
Deviation
Total Hairdex 73.15 33.83 60.23 25.74 0.056 66.40 28.19 49.20 23.73 0.019
Emotions 37.15 21.07 29.77 18.01 0.098 31.92 18.02 18.17 13.41 0.003
Functions 6.31 4.31 4.67 3.43 0.062 3.96 3.70 3.93 3.18 0.978
Symptoms 9.73 7.07 7.33 5.61 0.095 8.16 4.77 5.43 4.96 0.043
Self- condence 13.56 7.39 14.27 5.78 0.631 16.24 7.46 18.30 7.12 0.303
Stigmatization 6.40 6.88 4.20 4.29 0.078 6.12 7.04 3.43 4.68 0.111
TQL 15.48 11.04 13.28 8.33 0.314 16.00 10.90 11.55 8.59 0.103
Table 4: Hairdex and TQL scores of AA patients according to employment status
AA
Unemployed Employed p-value
Mean Standard Deviation Mean Standard Deviation
Total Hairdex 72.10 29.37 53.67 25.63 0.049
Emotions 37.30 18.60 21.56 15.41 0.028
Functions 6.20 3.36 3.44 3.23 0.034
Symptoms 9.60 4.62 6.02 4.92 0.046
Self-condence 12.00 7.53 18.56 6.75 0.026
Stigmatization 7.00 6.93 4.13 5.69 0.246
TQL 18.80 9.74 12.39 9.60 0.081
Table 5: Correlation of AGA and AA patients Hairdex and
TQL scores and disease duration
AGA AA
Correlation
Coefcient
p-
value
Correlation
Coefcient
p-
value
Total Hairdex 0.11 0.318 0.44 0.001
Emotions 0.09 0.415 0.47 0.001
Functions 0.05 0.661 0.35 0.008
Symptoms 0.01 0.915 0.29 0.030
Self Condence 0.06 0.586 -0.29 0.033
Stigmatization 0.16 0.149 0.54 0.001
TQL -0.12 0.294 0.42 0.001
To our knowledge, there have been only three studies com-
paring patient QoL with AA and AGA using different scales with
varying results.19-21 Reid EE et al. evaluated QoL in female patients
with AA, AGA, and telogen effluvium by Skindex-16 and report-
ed that mean global Skindex-16 scores did not differ significantly
across hair loss types. However, the Skindex-16 symptoms domain
showed significant differences among hair loss types, with AA pa-
tients scoring the lowest and AGA patients the highest.20 Yaylı S et al.
evaluated QoL in AA and AGA patients and healthy controls using
the Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Skin-
dex-29. They reported that QoL in patients with AA was severely
impaired according to Skindex-29 and all three sub-units of this test
(symptomatic, functional, and emotional).19 According to a study by
Cartwright T et al. in which 48% of cases were alopecia areata, 28%
alopecia universalis, 13% alopecia totalis, and 9% AA (the remain-
der were unclassified), QoL was significantly lower in patients with
AGA than in all three other types, as measured by the Dermatolo-
gy Life Quality Index (DLQI).21 All of these studies were performed
with nonspecific scales for hair disorders. Our study evaluated
QoL in AGA and AA patients using both TQL and Hairdex, both
of which are specific scales for hair disorders. Moreover, the QoL
of patients with AGA and AA was assessed according to age, gen-
der, educational level, occupation, Ludwig and Hamilton grades in
AGA patients, severity of illness in AA patients, duration of illness,
and wearing headscarves.
The study found statistically significant differences for sev-
eral parameters according to Hairdex, but the same was not true
for TQL. We thus believe that the effects of hair disorders on QoL
should be assessed by specific scales such as Hairdex, which would
be more reliable in this case.
656 Gonul M, Cemil BC, Ayvaz HH, Cankurtaran E, Ergin C, Gurel MS
An Bras Dermatol. 2018;93(5):651-8.
In this study, specific scores for functioning, emotions, and
symptoms were significantly higher in AGA patients when the
groups were compared according to Hairdex subgroups. In con-
trast, self-confidence was significantly higher in AA patients. There
was no statistically significant difference in stigmatization scores.
The results show that QoL in AGA patients is more affected than
originally thought, even though it is considered biologically benign.
It has been reported that women with alopecia experience
specific psychosocial problems including loss of self-confidence,
low self-esteem, and heightened self-consciousness. Women also
report feeling upset, angry, and worried in response to their con-
dition.20 Hair is also likely to play a more pivotal role in identity
and self-image for women. In line with social stereotypes, men
were more likely to express concern over interference in their work,
whereas women were more concerned about the social impact of
such a visible condition. Cartwright T et al. reported that women
with alopecia showed worse illness perceptions, greater difficulty
in coping, and lower QoL when compared to men.21 Our study pro-
duced similar results to the literature, and the AA group of female
patients scored statistically higher in total Hairdex and Hairdex sub-
groups for emotions and symptoms. Female patients with AGA also
had elevated Hairdex subgroup scores in terms of symptoms ob-
served with increasing Ludwig stages. Meanwhile, lower Hairdex
subgroup scores for symptoms were seen with increasing Hamilton
stages in male patients with AGA. The study showed that although
men were affected by AGA, women experienced more anxiety from
severe AGA, which is consistent with the literature.
A previous study showed statistically significant differences
in the DLQI scores, which was observed in AA patients according
to severity of the disease. DLQI scores increased with the severity
of AA among the various forms of severe AA and were the highest
in patients with alopecia universalis.22 In our study, and consistent
with the literature, significantly increased total Hairdex and Hair-
dex subgroup scores for emotions, functioning, stigmatization, and
self-confidence and TQL scores were observed in AA patients with
increasing disease severity.
To our knowledge, no studies have evaluated QoL accord-
ing to employment status of patients with AGA and AA. In the cur-
rent study, unemployed AA patients scored higher on total Hairdex
and Hairdex subgroups for emotions, functioning, and symptoms,
while no statistically significant difference was found for total Hair-
dex, Hairdex subgroups, or TQL according to employment status in
AGA patients. However, employed patients with AA scored higher
in the Hairdex subgroup for self-confidence. Unemployed patients
with AA may be more preoccupied with their appearance, because
they may have more idle time.
Hairdex and TQL were assessed according to patients’ edu-
cational status, and no statistically significant differences were found
between the AA and AGA groups, suggesting that both groups were
affected similarly by alopecia, regardless of educational level.
The current study found no statistically significant correla-
tion between duration of disease and Hairdex and TQL scores in
AGA patients. However, the study showed a positive correlation be-
tween duration of disease and total Hairdex and Hairdex subgroup
scores for emotions, functioning, symptoms, and stigmatization and
TQL scores, and a negative correlation between duration of disease
and self-confidence in AA patients. Consistent with these results, Qi
S et al. found that long duration was more of an impairment to QoL
in AA patients. In chronic diseases, patients would tend to adapt
gradually to the disease and improve their health status over the
course. While continued changes in appearance made QoL worse
over time in AA patients,23 AGA patients appeared to have adapted
to the disease.
Previously, Erol O et al. reported that scores on physical, psy-
chological, and overall well-being in women wearing headscarves
were lower than in women not wearing scarves.24 In the present study,
Hairdex and TQL did not differ between AGA and AA patients ac-
cording to whether they wore headscarves. The results confirm that
hair is important for women, regardless of wearing headscarves, and
that hair loss affected both groups of patients similarly.
One limitation to this study is that the validity and reliabili-
ty of the Hairdex index have not been confirmed in Turkey. The de-
velopment of a collecting-specific questionnaire or the investigation
of the validity and reliability of an existing questionnaire is highly
labor-intensive and time-consuming. Although there is no validated
test in Turkey for hair disorders, the current study’s findings can
provide a preliminary idea on quality of life in these patients.
CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, AGA patients are affected from the disor-
der more than previously thought. Dermatologists should thus be
aware of this distressing condition, recognizing the increasing need
for improvement in patients’ quality of life. Male patients can cope
with the disease over time. Alopecia has an impact on QoL regard-
less of educational level and may affect unemployed AA patients to
a higher degree. Disease severity causes more anxiety in women,
independently of whether they wear headscarves. q
Comparison of quality of life in patients with androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata 657
An Bras Dermatol. 2018;93(5):651-8.
How to cite this article: Gonul M, Cemil BC, Ayvaz HH, Cankurtaran E, Ergin C, Gurel MS. Comparison of quality of life in patients with
androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata. An Bras Dermatol. 2018;93(5):651-8.
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658 Gonul M, Cemil BC, Ayvaz HH, Cankurtaran E, Ergin C, Gurel MS
AUTHORS’CONTRIBUTIONS
Muzeyyen Gonul 0000-0003-1914-2175
Approval of the final version of the manuscript, Design and planning of the study,
Preparation and writing of the manuscript, Collecting, analysis and interpretation of
data, Effective participation in research orientation, Intellectual participation in pro-
paedeutic and/or therapeutic conduct of studied cases, Critical review of the literature,
Critical review of the manuscript
Bengu Cevirgen Cemil 0000-0002-2013-8635
Statistical analysis, Approval of the final version of the manuscript, Preparation and
writing of the manuscript, Collecting, analysis and interpretation of data, Effective par-
ticipation in research orientation, Critical review of the literature, Critical review of the
manuscript
Havva Hilal Ayvaz 0000-0002-6576-2431
Collecting, analysis and interpretation of data, Effective participation in research ori-
entation
Eylem Cankurtaran 0000-0002-7337-6653
Design and planning of the study, Effective participation in research orientation
Can Ergin 0000-0002-6156-0322
Intellectual participation in propaedeutic and/or therapeutic conduct of studied cases
Mehmet Salih Gurel 0000-0002-7031-6516
Design and planning of the study
An Bras Dermatol. 2018;93(5):651-8.
... 6 The burden of hair loss diseases such as alopecia areata (AA) and the current lack of efficient treatment, may cause vulnerability, such as lower self-esteem and stigmatisation, [5][6][7][8][9][10][11] which in turn may lead to psychological difficulties. 7,8,12,13 AA is one of the most common hair diseases and has a lifetime incidence of approximately 2% worldwide. 5,[9][10][11] The disease is an inflammatory, nonscarring hair loss disorder with an obscure aetiology with an autoimmune component. ...
... A Turkish and an English version of the Hairdex already exist. 13,15 The English Hairdex version was an in-house translation made without reliability testing. 15 The Turkish version was translated without reliability testing, but the Hairdex scores were compared to a Turkish version of a QoL instrument. ...
... 15 The Turkish version was translated without reliability testing, but the Hairdex scores were compared to a Turkish version of a QoL instrument. 13 All patients in the translated versions of Hairdex have found the instrument appealing, and so did patients in the present study. ...
Article
Full-text available
The German Hairdex quality of life (QoL) instrument is specific to hair and scalp diseases, developed for self‐rating and consists of 48 statements divided into five domains: Symptoms, Functioning, Emotions, Self‐confidence and Stigmatisation. There was a need of a Swedish reliability tested, validated hair and scalp specific QoL instrument why the German Hairdex was chosen to be translated and reliability tested in a systematic way. To make a translation, a reliability test of stability, and validation of the German Hairdex QoL instrument among 100 Swedish patients with a dermatological ICD‐10 diagnosis of alopecia areata (AA). An eight‐step method by Gudmundsson was used as a model with a forward and backward translation and with comments from an expert panel. A statistical test–retest (ICC (2,1)) analysis was made, followed by an internal consistency analysis. A comparison between the German and Swedish Hairdex‐S constructs by a principal component analysis was performed. The Hairdex‐S was very well accepted by patients. The ICC(2,1) test–retest showed a good to excellent correlation of 0.91 (CI [0.85–0.95]). Internal consistency was α = 0.92. Like the original Hairdex, Hairdex‐S showed good factorability with a Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of 0.82 and with one component explaining 70% of the variance: original Hairdex instrument (69%). When tested on patients with AA, the domains Functioning and Emotions had the strongest loadings, followed by Stigmatisation and Self‐confidence. Younger AA patients at self‐assessment and patients who reported to be younger at the onset of AA, scored statistically significantly higher on the Hairdex‐S, indicating an overall lower QoL on domains Emotions and Functioning, respectively. The Hairdex‐S is very well accepted by AA patients, shows very good psychometric properties, and a very good agreement with the original Hairdex. The Swedish Hairdex instrument can be recommended for evaluation of patients QoL as well as for research purposes.
... Among these tools, the Skindex scale was recently used to measure the QoL of patients with hair loss. 7 Gonul et al. 8 also reported that AGA patients had significantly higher total Hairdex scores in terms of emotions, functioning, and symptoms, while selfconfidence was significantly higher in the alopecia areata patients. Meanwhile, Bade et al. 9 reported younger AGA patients were more stigmatized, had poor functioning and emotions stability, but they had more self assuredness. ...
... Younger patients seem to retain better QoL despite AGA. 8 However, studies using hair specific Skindex-29 to evaluate the relationship between the type of AGA and QoL in male patients are limited. ...
Article
Full-text available
Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a nonscarring baldness that mostly affects >50% men worldwide. Hair loss led to psychological difficulties and have a negative impact on the quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the type of AGA and QoL in male patients. A total of 67 male AGA patients were clinically assessed using the Hamilton-Norwood scale and interviewed using the Hair-Specific Skindex-29 scale to assess QoL. The patients were predominantly in the age group 31-50 years (50.7%), mean age 49.60 years, grade I obese (32.8%), mean BMI 24.93 kg/cm2, 41.8% with father’s AGA history, smoking (62.7%), smoking >100 cigarettes in last 6 months (41.8%), and have hypertension (16.4%) and diabetes mellitus (3%) as concomitant diseases. Based on Noorwood-Hamilton scale, the types of AGA were predominantly type II (25.4%) and followed by type III (16.4%). The results of the Hair Specific Skindex-29 on AGA patients were moderate (58.2%) and severe (41.8%). There were a relationship between AGA type and QoL (p = 0.041) and significant positive correlation between AGA type and QoL (p = 0.020, r = 0.282). In conclusion, patients experienced moderate to severe impact on QoL due to AGA. Thus, every increased in the type of AGA will impact patient’s quality of life.Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a nonscarring baldness that mostly affects >50% men worldwide. Hair loss led to psychological difficulties and have a negative impact on the quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the type of AGA and QoL in male patients. A total of 67 male AGA patients were clinically assessed using the Hamilton-Norwood scale and interviewed using the Hair-Specific Skindex-29 scale to assess QoL. The patients were predominantly <span style="mso-spacerun: 'yes'; font-family:
... They concluded that cultural and traditional beliefs might influence the perception of hair loss in different communities. 25 Education was found to have a positive effect on Quality of life and well-being through income and health. 29 Similarly, our analyses determined that less education was associated with a lower QoL in WHO-BREF with a Mean of 217.93 and Hairdex with a Median of 64.00. ...
... However, no statistically significant difference was found among the groups in any of the studies. 1,10,12,25,27 This suggests that duration of AGA has no effect on the QoL. ...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of androgenetic alopecia patients has become increasingly important, but the influencing factors associated with the different domains are poorly understood. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the influencing factors in HRQoL of androgenetic alopecia patients and identify its strongly associated domains. Patients and methods: We enrolled 170 androgenetic alopecia patients. HRQoL was measured using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHO-BREF), and Hairdex. Results: HRQoL was significantly impaired in patients <30 years, (WHO-BREF: P=0.022, Hairdex: P=0.004), less educated (WHO-BREF: P=0.021, Hairdex: P=0.003), single patients (Hairdex: P=0.023), and urban residence (Hairdex: P=0.043). By domains, those <30 years were impaired by physical health (P=0.038) and psychological (P=0.030) by WHO-BREF, and symptoms (P=0.002) and emotions (P=0.002) by Hairdex. Singles were impaired by symptoms (P=0.020), and emotions (P=0.009) by Hairdex. Less-educated individuals had impaired all domains in the WHO-BREF and Hairdex, except for physical health. Women had impaired symptoms (P=0.013) and stigmatization (P=0.041) in Hairdex. Conclusion: Androgenetic alopecia is associated with significantly reduced HRQoL in young, less educated, and single patients. Dermatologists should inquire about Quality of Life and appropriately support androgenetic alopecia patients.
... Comparisons to people with a different dermatological diagnosis have yielded mixed results. For instance, one study comparing people with AA to people with alopecia androgenetica reported people with AA to have better QoL (21), while another study found the opposite result (22). ...
... AA reported better QoL than people with psoriasis (101) or alopecia androgenetica (21). In yet other studies, people with AA reported worse QoL than people with alopecia androgenetica (22,76). ...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction Alopecia areata (AA) is a non-scarring hair loss condition, subclassified into AA, alopecia universalis, and alopecia totalis. There are indications that people with AA experience adverse psychosocial outcomes, but previous studies have not included a thorough meta-analysis and did not compare people with AA to people with other dermatological diagnoses. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to update and expand previous systematic reviews, as well as describing and quantifying levels of anxiety, depression, and quality of life (QoL) in children and adults with AA. Methods A search was conducted, yielding 1,249 unique records of which 93 were included. Results Review results showed that people with AA have higher chances of being diagnosed with anxiety and/or depression and experience impaired QoL. Their psychosocial outcomes are often similar to other people with a dermatological condition. Meta-analytic results showed significantly more symptoms of anxiety and depression in adults with AA compared to healthy controls. Results also showed a moderate impact on QoL. These results further highlight that AA, despite causing little physical impairments, can have a significant amount on patients’ well-being. Discussion Future studies should examine the influence of disease severity, disease duration, remission and relapse, and medication use to shed light on at-risk groups in need of referral to psychological care. Systematic review registration [ https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/ ], identifier [CRD42022323174].
... Prior studies supported the association between QoL and selfperception. 14,31,32 Figure 3 visually illustrates patients' stories and impact of AA on their QoL. Despite significant heterogeneity among identified studies and QoL tools used, most severely affected QoL dimensions in adults and children included mental health and/or emotiona l domains, followed by functional domains (e.g. ...
Article
Alopecia areata (AA) is a common inflammatory autoimmune disease of the hair which can have a significant negative impact on the quality of life (QoL), mental health, and productivity. The aim of this scoping review is to elucidate the burden of AA focusing on these three realms. Inclusion criteria included all original manuscripts with no restriction on study type or statistical method written in English (or having an English abstract). For QoL 40 articles were included, 85 for psychiatric comorbidities, and 9 for work/school absenteeism/presenteeism mostly consisting of cross-sectional and observational cohort studies. QoL impairment was detected in over 75% of patients and up to one-third reported extremely severe QoL impairments. Specific QoL dimensions with the greatest impact were embarrassment, social functioning, as well as shopping and/or housework. Cross-sectional studies assessing the psychological burden of adult patients with AA found that the presence of signs of anxiety and/or depression ranged from 30-68% and affected all age groups. Rates of work absenteeism and unemployment were significantly higher in AA patients compared to healthy controls. Up to 62% reported making major life decisions including relationships, education and career based on their AA. Additionally, the extensive camouflage techniques and time lost from work led to a strong financial burden for patients and the numerous physician visits added to the healthcare costs. The overall impact of AA stretches much further than simply being an aesthetic concern and can negatively impact every part of an individual's life. An individualized approach and effective treatments will help reduce the psychosocial consequences and distress and return patients to their normal state of health.
... The observed sex differences in costs may be related to gendered experiences of living with AA and hair loss in general. Previous studies suggested women may experience more distress about hair loss than men (34)(35)(36)(37). This difference could result from women attaching greater importance to their appearance than men do, or that baldness in men being more socially accepted and common (10). ...
Article
Full-text available
Alopecia areata is a common skin disease which is associated with psychosocial and financial burden. No curative therapy exists and, hence, affected persons resort to self-financed cosmetic solutions. However, studies on the economic impact of alopecia areata on individuals are limited. To estimate annual individual out-of-pocket costs in persons with alopecia areata, a cross-sectional study using a standardized online questionnaire was performed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. A total of 346 individuals (95.1% women, mean age: 38.5 ± 11.6 years) with alopecia areata participated between April and August 2020. Mean additional spending on everyday necessities was 1,248€ per person per year, which was significantly influenced by the duration of the illness, the treatment provider, and disease severity. Hair replacement products and cosmetics accounted for the highest monthly costs, followed by costs for physician visits, hospital treatments, and medication. Most participants (n = 255, 73.7%) were currently not undergoing treatment, due to lack of efficacy, side-effects, costs and acceptance of the disease. Sex differences in expenses were observed, with women having higher expenditures. Alopecia areata-related out-of-pocket costs place a considerable financial burden on affected individuals, are higher compared with those of other chronic diseases, and should be considered in economic assessments of the impact of this disease.
... The main consequences of hair diseases are related to the loss of self-image, which impacts the quality of life causing psychological damage such as loss of self-confidence, low self-esteem, affects sexuality causing less desire to relate to another individual, causes irritation, anxiety and concern, these psychic symptoms are common in patients who have alopecia, for example. As for the most common physical manifestations in hair diseases, the itching accompanied by local redness and burning is highlighted, which are often reported by individuals who suffer from hair damage caused by dandruff (Gonul et al., 2018;Sanclemente et al., 2017). ...
Article
Full-text available
Medicinal plants are used with several therapeutic applications, with hair disorders. Among the symptoms caused by these diseases, it is pertinent to emphasize the psychic damages such as loss of self-esteem and physical symptoms such as itching and burning. The present study aims to highlight the beneficial effect of medicinal plants against the symptoms caused by hair disorders. This is an integrative literature review using the Pubmed, Science direct and Google Scholar platforms and as descriptors “phytochemical”, “animal”, “seborrheic dermatitis”, “plant”, “anti-inflammatory extracts”, “antifungal” in English, crossed using the Boolean operators “AND” or “OR”. The selection of works took place after reading the title and abstract, with publication date between the years 2012-2022, excluding review studies, duplicate articles and thematic leakage. After extracting the data, 23 studies were selected that proved the effectiveness of plants on hair disorders, performing antifungal action (especially on fungi of the Malassezia spp. and Trichophyton spp.) and antioxidant due to the presence of phytochemical components such as flavonoids, phenolics, tannins, terpenoids, among others. It is noteworthy that most of these plants are processed using the maceration technique to obtain their extracts. Therefore, the bioactive compounds of these plants can be used for the development of pharmaceutical products with the purpose of expanding the therapeutic options on the market and optimizing the quality of life of patients, making it essential to encourage scientific research that discusses safety, efficacy and toxicity from the use of these metabolites.
... Hair loss occurs worldwide and it can be distressing for some affected individuals especially as this can have a negative impact on their quality of life. [1][2][3] Most of the studies on the prevalence of hair loss (HL) are hospitalbased with few community studies. [4][5][6][7][8] The prevalence of HL in hospital based studies is 1.3-2% 4,5 and 11.8 to 40.03% in community-based studies. ...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Hair loss studies have mostly been clinical with no trichoscopy features of the hair loss documented in Nigeria. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the community prevalence, types of hair loss, trichoschopy features and the risk factors for the observed hair loss types. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study of traders (Fitz Patrick's skin types V-VI) at an urban market. The traders were clinically evaluated for hair loss. Sociodemographic, clinical and trichoscopy data were recorded using a study questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Statistics such as means, medians, frequencies, t-test and chi-square test were presented. Levels of significance of all tests was set at, P<0.05%. Results: A total of 307 participants (32.6% male and 67.4% female) with a mean age of 42.7±12.8 years were studied. The prevalence of hair loss was 68.7% (51% in males and 77.3% in females) and the mean age of those with hair loss was 44.8±12.3 years. The pattern of hair loss was patterned, diffuse and localized in 94.3%, 3.8% and 1.9% respectively. The main types of hair loss were androgenetic alopecia (26.9%) and traction alopecia (71.7%). The prevalent hair practices were; braids and weave-on (extensions) in 78.2%, turban-like head gear in 76.9%, and chemical relaxers in 73.8%. Trichoscopy features characteristic of the observed hair loss types were documented. Conclusion: Hair loss is common in the community. The common hair care practices and increasing age could be contributors to hair loss.
Article
Background: Androgenetic alopecia has a significant influence on the patients' Loneliness, Anxiety, and Depression, although there are numerous strategies to improve the patients' Loneliness, Anxiety, and Depression. Aims: Determine whether Hair transplant operation improves Loneliness, Anxiety and Depression in Patients. Patients/methods: There were 35 patients recruited from the clinic. Using questionnaires (UCLA and HADS), the subjects were evaluated for their levels of Loneliness, Anxiety, and Depression before and after Hair transplant. To compare the means of quantitative outcomes, a Paired T-test was administered. The Chi-square test was employed to compare qualitatively the preoperative and postoperative measures. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to assess the impact of marital status and educational level on outcome variables. If P< 0.05, differences were deemed significant. Results: Our findings demonstrated a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) between pre and post-operative hair transplantation for HADS-anxiety and depression, with the mean anxiety and depression score improving to 3.32. In terms of the UCLA, there was a statistically significant change between the two groups (p <0.001), and the average loneliness score improved to 4.48. There was also a statistically significant relationship between marital status and loneliness (p <0.001), educational level and loneliness (p <0.001), anxiety and depression (p <0.001). Conclusion: This research found that hair transplantation surgery improves psychosocial outcomes, with affected patients experiencing less loneliness, anxiety, and sadness after surgery than before.
Article
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Background and Design: Although alopecia areata is not yet clearly shown to be triggered by emotional stress, neuroendocrinologic studies supports that psychological stress may be effective in the disease process. In this study we aimed to show the role of stressful life events in onset and exacerbation of alopecia areata and the levels of anxiety, depression and quality of life by the comparison with the patients with androgenetic alopecia and healthy controls.Materials and Methods: Thirty-one consecutive patients with alopecia areata (13 females, 18 males, mean age 28.1±8.9) were included in this study. Forty-six patients with androgenetic alopecia (24 females, 22 males, mean age 28.2±7.4) and 45 healthy individuals (25 females, 20 males, mean age 25.4±4.4) was created as the two control groups. The patients and the control groups completed the tests including life events scale, Beck depression inventory, Beck anxiety inventory and Skindex-29 scales.Results: Total scores of the scale of life events in patients with alopecia areata were significantly higher than in healthy controls (p=0.031). There were also significant differences in the sub-units -distress and adaptation- scores of this scale (p=0.028; p=0.036). The scores of Beck depression inventory were significantly higher than control group (p=0.014), however they were identical to the patients’ with androgenetic alopecia. The scores of Beck anxiety inventory of all three groups showed no significant difference (p=0,207). The quality of life in patients with alopecia areata which is evaluated with Skindex-29 is severely impaired according to the scores of all three sub-units of this test -symptomatic, functional, and emotional- (p=0.001; p
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Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common hair loss disease with genetic predisposition among men and women, and it may commence at any age after puberty. It may significantly affect a variety of psychological and social aspects of one's life and the individual's overall quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to investigate the QoL of AGA patients and discover the factors that can influence the QoL of AGA patients, including previous experience in non-medical hair care, reasons for hospital visits, age, duration, and the severity of AGA. A total of 998 male patients with AGA were interviewed, using the Hair Specific Skindex-29 to evaluate the QoL of AGA patients. The results of the Hair Specific Skindex-29 on patients with AGA were as follows: symptom scale: 26.3±19.5, function scale: 24.0±20.1, emotion scale: 32.1±21.8, and global score: 27.3±19.1. According to this assessment, QoL was more damaged if the patient had severe alopecia, a longer duration of AGA, younger age, had received previous non-medical hair care, and visited the hospital for AGA treatment. This study showed that AGA could harmfully affect the patients' QoL. These findings indicate that dermatologists should address these QoL issues when treating patients with alopecia.
Article
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The aim of this study was to find out the effects of chemotherapy-related alopecia on body image and quality of life of Turkish women who have cancer with or without headscarves and factors affecting them. This descriptive study was conducted with 204 women who received chemotherapy at the Istanbul University Institute of Oncology, Turkey. The Patient Description Form, Body Image Scale and Nightingale Symptom Assessment Scale were used in data collection. Statistical analyses were performed using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests. Logistic regression analysis was done to predict the factors affecting body image and quality of life of the patients. No difference was found between women wearing headscarves and those who did not in respect of their body image. However, women who wore headscarves who had no alopecia felt less dissatisfied with their scars, and women not wearing headscarves who had no alopecia have been feeling less self-conscious, less dissatisfied with their appearance. There was difference in terms of quality of life: women wearing headscarves had worse physical, psychological and general well-being than others. Although there were many important factors, multivariate analysis showed that for body image, having alopecia and wearing headscarves; and for quality of life, having alopecia were the variables that had considerable effects.
Article
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Alopecia areata (AA) is the most common cause of localized, non-scarring alopecia. Stress and other psychological factors have been implicated in the causation of the disease, and it is also found to alter the course of the disease process. Unfortunately no one has studied the impact of AA on the quality of life, which includes the social life of the patients. To study the clinical profile and impact of alopecia areata on the quality of life, including the social life of adult patients with severe forms of the disease. The present study determined the clinical pattern of AA and its impact on the quality of life (QOL) in all the patients with severe forms of alopecia areata attending the Dermatology Outpatient Department. The male : female ratio was 1.86 : 1. Most (58.03%) of the patients were between 21 and 40 years of age. Almost 40% of the patients had associated systemic disease or other dermatological disorders. A family history of AA was found in 593 (20.02%) of the patients. Nail changes were observed in 297 (10%) of the patients. There were significant differences between the mean Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score in cases with severe forms of AA and controls ( P < 0.001). Severe forms of alopecia areata had a major impact on the psychosocial well-being of the patients. These individuals had to be treated early, and they required more than just prescription drugs. Educational and psychological support in addition to medical therapy for AA could improve their long-term physical outcomes.
Article
Background and design: The role of psychological factors in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata (AA) has long been a subject of debate. This case-control study was undertaken to determine the significance of stressful life events and the other psychological factors in the etiopathogenesis of AA. The impact of the disease on quality of life was also assessed. Materials and Methods: Fifty-two adult patients (18 females, 34 males) diagnosed with AA and 52 age- and sex-matched individuals selected from hospital personal without any hair loss as a control group were evaluated with major life events scale, Beck depression and Beck anxiety inventories, and 36-item short form health survey (SF-36). Results: There was no statistical difference between the patient and control groups regarding the total scores of the stressful life events, depression and anxiety. Of the 8 subscales of SF-36, three of them (vitality, social functioning and mental health scores) turned out to be statistically significant between the two groups. Conclusions: Our data provides no evidence that psychological factors are involved in the pathogenesis of AA. On the other hand, our findings indicate that AA has a partly negative impact on quality of life, so we think that psychologic intervention should be useful in selected patients for an effective treatment.
Article
Background Alopecia is a common dermatological condition with mostly cosmetic consequences that, nevertheless, has significant psychological and psychosocial impact.Objective To assess the impact of alopecia on quality of life and certain psychological domains and to compare it between scarring and non-scarring alopecia in Greek adult women.Patients and methodsForty-four women, aged 18–70 years, with scarring (n = 19) or non-scarring alopecia (n = 25) were recruited. All patients were evaluated by Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES) and UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS).ResultsWomen with scarring alopecia had higher scores in DLQI, HADS and UCLA- LS and lower scores in RSES, compared to women with non-scarring alopecia. A statistically significant difference between the two groups was documented for DLQI (p = 0.0067), HADS (p = 0.0008), and HADS-Anxiety (HADS-A) (p < 0.05) and HADS-Depression (HADS-D) (p < 0.01) subscales.Conclusions The psychological burden is heavier and quality of life is more severely impaired among women with scarring alopecia compared with non-scarring alopecia, probably depicting the poorer prognosis of the former.
Article
Alopecia areata (AA) is a common chronic hair condition that has negative impact on both patients and their families. The aim of this article is to assess the impact of AA on patients' quality of life (QoL) using the dermatology life quality index (DLQI) questionnaire, and assess its feasibility and internal consistency. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 831 patients with AA between January 2010 and July 2012. The Chinese version of DLQI questionnaire was used to assess the QoL of AA patients more than 16 years old. About 698 patients (84%) completed the questionnaire. The scores ranged from 0 to 29 with a mean of 5.8 ± 5.6. Patients' QoL was affected moderately to extremely by AA. Questions 2 (embarrassment), 5(social or entertainment), and 3 (shopping or housework) had the most impact on patients. Mean score of younger patients was higher compared to older ones (6.2 vs. 4.8, P < .05). Patients with alopecia totalis/alopecia universalis, longer duration, local symptoms, and recurrent disease exhibited higher scores (P < .001). Among our patients with AA, Cronbach's alpha was .881, indicating high internal reliability of DLQI questionnaire. In conclusion, AA moderately affected the QoL of the patients. These individuals had to be treated early, and required psychological support in addition to prescription drugs.
Article
Aim: Many skin conditions may have a strong impact on quality of life. The impact depends on several factors and in particular on the nature of the disease itself. The aim of the study was to describe the burden of several dermatological conditions on patients and to compare them. Methods: Dermatological patients were recruited consecutively during the normal outpatient clinics of a large reference hospital. Quality of life data were collected using the Skindex-29. A short form of the questionnaire, the Skindex-17, was derived in order to simplify the presentation of results. The Skindex-17 has two subscales: symptoms and psychosocial. Results: Data were complete for 2478 patients and 2402 patients for the symptomatic and the psychosocial scale of Skindex-17, respectively. The different skin conditions were grouped into 32 categories. Three disease patterns could be recognized, according to quality of life impairment: 1) low symptomatic impairment and low psychosocial impairment: mild conditions such as nevi and benign skin neoplasms, but also melanoma; 2) low symptomatic impairment and high psychosocial impairment: diseases such as alopecia, hirsutism, vitiligo; 3) high symptomatic impairment and high psychosocial impairment: for example, psoriasis, pemphigus, lichen. Conclusion: Specialty-specific quality of life questionnaires, such as the Skindex-29 or the Skindex-17, allow to evaluate differences among conditions. Such observations could be used by health policy makers, to show, for example, that some conditions affecting the appearance, even though not clinically severe, may have a strong impact on psychosocial life.
Article
Background Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease affecting about 2% of the population, which has a considerable impact on quality of life (QoL). There are no disease-specific questionnaires to assess QoL in patients suffering from AA. Objective To validate a new disease-specific questionnaire for AA, named AA-QLI, and to compare the consequent Quality of Life Index (QLI) with the commonly known Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) to verify if it can provide a more comprehensive tool for patients. Methods A total of 50 patients affected by AA were administered both the AA-QLI, created by us, and the well-known DLQI. With the aim to detect suitable QLI, we propose to use two multivariate analyses: Results The scores of both the questionnaires are quite close, except for a few cases. Statistical analysis shows a higher specificity of the AA-QLI for evaluating QoL. Among the three areas in which AA-QLI is divided, ‘Relationship’ has a major impact on the QLI, followed by ‘Subjective symptoms’; ‘Objective signs’ has a lower weight on the QLI. Conclusion AA-QLI is a good instrument to evaluate the real impact of AA on QoL. It can be helpful both for the physician and for the patient.