Alopecia and Amphetamine Use: Reply
July 1988
in “
JAMA
”
TLDR Amphetamines may not directly cause hair loss, as the type of thinning seen with their use differs from severe alopecia.
In a letter dated July 8, 1988, Dr. Virginia C. Fiedler responded to a query regarding the relationship between amphetamine use and alopecia. She expressed skepticism about a direct cause-effect relationship between long-term amphetamine use and the development of alopecia, as the type of hair loss associated with amphetamine use was diffuse scalp thinning, which is different from the total hair loss seen in severe alopecia areata. Dr. Fiedler referenced two studies: one by Eckert et al. (1967) which found that only three out of 150 women with diffuse hair loss were taking amphetamines, without evidence of a temporal relationship between amphetamine use and hair loss; and another by Alexander (1965) which reported diffuse hair loss in individuals using amphetamines for weight reduction, though rapid weight loss itself could be a contributing factor. Dr. Fiedler concluded that it is difficult to determine the role of amphetamines in diffuse scalp hair loss based on the available information.
