Association of Low Serum Ferritin Levels in Patients With Alopecia Areata: A Case-Control Study

    April 2024 in “ Proceedings ”
    R.A. Abdullah Khan, Annum Ashraf, Uzma Sarwar, Itrat Fatima, Aysha Arif, Muhammad Azam Bokhari
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    TLDR People with alopecia areata often have lower iron levels than healthy people.
    The study with 104 participants, half with alopecia areata and half healthy controls, found a significant association between low serum ferritin levels and alopecia areata. The alopecia areata group had a mean serum ferritin level of 18.82 ± 4.47 ng/ml, which was significantly lower than the control group's 20.92 ± 4.31 ng/ml, with a p-value of 0.017. Furthermore, 63% of the alopecia areata patients had low serum ferritin levels (defined as below 20 ng/mL) compared to 37% of the controls, with an Odds Ratio of 2.596 (p=0.029). These results suggest that iron deficiency may be involved in the development of alopecia areata and that addressing iron deficiency could potentially improve treatment outcomes for these patients.
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