The structure of associated diseases in children with alopecia areata

Abstract

The aim of our study was to investigate the interdependence of the severity degree of alopecia areata and comorbidity in children under the age of 14 years. We observed 17 children aged 1 to 15 years suffered from alopecia areata. Paraclinical examination included general clinical, clinical and biochemical laboratory tests, ultrasound study of the internal organs. History of disease revealed in 2 children (11.8%) food allergy, 3 (17.6%) children had the bottle‐feeding since a birth day. Various factors played a provocative role in the occurrence of relapses and severity of process. Thus, more than 50% of these were chronic foci of infection (early caries, chronic tonsillitis, dysbiosis), somewhat less deferred protracted psycho‐emotional disorders (stuttering, fear, insomnia, cries at night), mainly between the ages of 1,5 to 5 years and in children of 7–9 years of old. One quarter of the patients had colds and their treatment. They were predisposing factors for development of severe alopecia areata and its recurrence. In assessing the severity of clinical symptoms by counting the percentage of hair loss, we obtained the following data: in 4 (23.5%) patients diagnosed the total form, and in 12 (70.6%) ‐ the various forms of alopecia with a number of local lesions from 1 to 5. Only 1 (5.9%) had a diffuse form of alopecia.