Clinicoepidemiological Observational Study of Acquired Alopecias in Females Correlating with Anemia and Thyroid Function

Abstract

Alopecia can either be inherited or acquired; the latter, more common, can be diffuse, patterned, and focal, each having cicatricial and noncicatricial forms. This observational study of 135 cases in a semiurban Indian population aimed to detect the prevalence of various forms of acquired alopecia in females and correlate the same with levels of hemoglobin, serum ferritin, triiodothyronine, thyroxin, and thyroid stimulating hormone. The majority (84, 62.2%) of our cases of alopecia had telogen effluvium followed by female pattern alopecia (32, 23.7%). Stress (86, 63.7%), topical application of chemicals (72, 53.3%), systemic medications for concurrent illnesses (62, 5%), and pregnancy (14, 10.3%) were the common exacerbating factors. Neither low hemoglobin (<12 gm%, 73.4%) nor low serum ferritin (<12 μg/L, 6.7%) was found to be statistically significant. A majority (90, 90.9%) of 99 cases with anemia (hemoglobin levels of <12 gm%) had serum ferritin levels >12 μg/L. Though lack of vitamin B12 testing was a limitation of our study, its deficiency could be the probable cause of iron deficiency as the majority (58, 64.4%) of these cases, as indeed majority (89, 65.4%) of our study population, were vegetarians. Thyroid disorders (23, 17%, including 9 newly diagnosed) were not of significance statistically.

NonScarring Diffuse Hair Loss in Women: a Clinico‐Etiological Study from tertiary care center in North‐West India

“…In the present study of DHL in female patients, the age ranged between 14 and 63 years with highest incidence, that is, 70 (70%) of hair loss occurring in the age group of 21‐40 years which is in concordance with other studies . Hair loss was maximum in child bearing age (mean: 30.04 ± 9.37 years).…”

“…Other studies have reported variable patterns. Some have included both acute and chronic TE in a single category of TE which was the commonest pattern reported while where CTE was included separately, it was usually the second commonest pattern …”

“…In the dietary habit, majority, that is, 85% females were vegetarian, which may be a contributing factor as vegetarian diet is usually lower in protein and lacks few essential vitamins as compared to a nonvegetarian diet. The dietary habits were noted in other studies too which also reported a vegetarian diet in 53%‐68% of females with hair loss . Although most of the patients were vegetarian in the present study, there was no correlation with any specific pattern of hair loss.…”

“…The inherited forms are relatively rare, affect a younger age group, and result either from improper development or nondevelopment of follicles or due to a defective hair shaft. The acquired forms are more common, affect an older age group, and are broadly classified into diffuse, patterned, and focal hair loss, each further sub‐divided into scarring (cicatricial) and nonscarring (noncicatricial) forms …”

The Role of Ferritin and Vitamin D Levels in Telogen Effluvium

“…'nın yapmış oldukları çalışmada da TE ve ferritin düşüklüğü arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlılık saptanmamıştır. 19,20 Bu çalışmalara göre, demir eksikliğinin kadınlarda sık görüldüğü göz-lenmiş, ancak kontrol grubuna kıyasla kronik TE'li hastalarda artmadığı bulunmuştur. Çalışmamızda da literatürle uyumlu olarak, TE ile kontrol grubu arasında serum ferritin düzeyleri açısından istatistiksel olarak anlamlı fark saptanmamıştır (p>0,05).…”