A Descriptive Study of Alopecia Patterns and Their Relation to Thyroid Dysfunction
January 2013
in “
International Journal of Trichology
”
TLDR Hair loss is often linked to thyroid problems, especially in women and older people, and screening for thyroid issues is advised for those with hair loss.
Over a 25-month period, a study involving 1232 patients with hair loss revealed a significant correlation between alopecia patterns and thyroid dysfunction. The most prevalent forms of hair loss observed were diffuse alopecia (71.35%), alopecia areata (11.8%), and androgenetic alopecia (14.29%). Thyroid dysfunction, assessed by TSH and TPOAb levels, was more frequently found in females and its prevalence increased with age. The study also found associations between hair loss and other clinical conditions such as urticaria, vitiligo, acanthosis nigricans, and premature greying. The authors recommended that all alopecia patients should be screened for thyroid dysfunction as a cost-effective measure. They emphasized the importance of such screening, particularly in children with alopecia, and suggested a commonality between thyroid autoimmunity and alopecia areata, as well as a potential interaction between thyroid hormones and androgens in androgenetic alopecia. However, the study was limited by its sole use of TSH and TPOAb for screening, without additional follow-up tests due to the patients' cost constraints.
