Association Between Alopecia Areata and Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

August 2025 in “ Frontiers in Immunology ”

Jiawei Lu, Xuechen Cao, Yifei Feng, Yongkai Yu, Yan Lu

alopecia areata alopecia totalis alopecia universalis systemic inflammation

TLDR People with alopecia areata have a higher risk of heart disease.

This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the association between alopecia areata (AA) and cardiovascular disease (CVD), analyzing data from five studies with 238,270 AA patients. The findings indicate that AA patients have a higher risk of CVD, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.71. The risk is particularly pronounced in patients with alopecia totalis or alopecia universalis, who have an OR of 3.80. However, no significant associations were found between patch-type AA and CVD, or between AA and specific conditions like ischemic stroke or myocardial infarction. The study suggests that systemic inflammation in AA may contribute to increased cardiovascular risk, highlighting the need for further research to confirm these results and explore the mechanisms involved.

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