Epidemiological Trends in Alopecia Areata at the Global, Regional, and National Levels

Abstract

BackgroundNo comprehensive studies have been published on the global burden of alopecia areata since 2010.ObjectiveWe aimed to measure the global, regional, and national incidence of alopecia areata and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) by age, sex, and socio-demographic index (SDI) value from 1990 to 2019.MethodsData were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) were calculated to quantify temporal trends in the age-standardized rates of alopecia areata incidence and DALYs. The correlations between EAPCs in the age-standardized rates and SDI values were also analyzed.ResultsFrom 1990 to 2019, the alopecia areata incidence number and the associated number of DALYs increased globally by 49.14%, and 49.51%, respectively. The global age-standardized incidence rate decreased (EAPC, −0.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.13 to −0.12) and the age-standardized DALY rate showed a downward trend (EAPC, −0.12; 95% CI, −0.13 to −0.11). The largest increases in the age-standardized incidence rate and age-standardized DALY rate were observed in Low SDI quintile and Western Sub-Saharan Africa regions. The regions with the greatest changes in the incidence of alopecia areata were Central Sub-Saharan Africa and Western Sub-Saharan Africa. The three countries with the largest increases in alopecia areata incidence from 1990 to 2019 were Kuwait (EAPC, 0.15), South Sudan (EAPC, 0.12), and Nigeria (EAPC, 0.11). The age-standardized incidence rate was higher in females than in males.ConclusionGlobally, both the age-standardized incidence rate and age-standardized DALY rate of alopecia areata showed decreasing trends. Future preventive strategies should focus on low-income countries, Central Sub-Saharan Africa, Western Sub-Saharan Africa, Kuwait, South Sudan, Nigeria.

Alopecia areata and pattern hair loss (androgenetic alopecia) on social media – Current public interest trends and cross‐sectional analysis of YouTube and TikTok contents

“…Popular social media platforms that disproportionately retain young consumers, with built-in advertisement features, make it ideal for companies marketing therapeutic products for early onset diseases; this is evident in AA patients with the highest rate of incidence occurring in the 20-24 years and 30-34 years age groups globally for both sexes, while the initial onset of PHL may occur between the age of 20-25 years or post-pubertal age groups for males and females, respectively. 1,[20][21][22] Furthermore, the effects of AA-and PHL-related medical content on social media could be enhanced due to the inverse association between QoL and age of onset; this was shown in patients whose age of onset is in the 30s or ≤20s, who are more likely to have reduced QoL caused by AA and PHL respectively. 23 Therefore, physicians who adopt share decision-making with patients could benefit from keeping up-to-date with the current social media landscape, especially for young patients as they become increasingly reliant on social media for medical information.…”

“…Hair loss, caused by multi‐faceted conditions such as alopecia areata (AA) and pattern hair loss (PHL, or androgenetic alopecia), has an estimated global prevalence of up to 2% for AA and up to 80% in men and 42% in women for PHL 1,2 . These conditions often cause significant emotional distress and psychological burden to patients, leading to increased demand for effective treatments.…”

Systematic review of newer agents for the management of alopecia areata in adults: Janus kinase inhibitors, biologics and phosphodiesterase‐4 inhibitors

“…1 With an estimated global prevalence of 2%, AA represents a significant healthcare burden leading to 600,570 disabilityadjusted life years lost in 2019 worldwide. 1,2 The natural history of AA is unpredictable with episodes of spontaneous disease flares and hair regrowth occurring in males and females of any age. 1 However, AA is more likely to worsen and associate with psychological conditions in females, including anxiety and social phobia, which adversely affects the quality of life.…”

Editorial: Advances in evaluation and management of hair loss disorders

“…Patients consider AA as a daily challenge and burden, with most people rating AA as a moderate or serious burden. As a matter of fact, the burden is significant enough to spend on average 10.3 h per week concealing hair loss (10).AA is associated with higher incidences of other autoimmune diseases such as thyroid disease, pernicious anemia, and celiac disease and other autoinflammatory disease such as atopic dermatitis, lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, asthma, and allergic rhinitis (6,11).…”

“…AA is associated with higher incidences of other autoimmune diseases such as thyroid disease, pernicious anemia, and celiac disease and other autoinflammatory disease such as atopic dermatitis, lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, asthma, and allergic rhinitis (6,11).…”