Chronic Diffuse Alopecia in Women: A Retrospective Review of Histopathologic Diagnoses

The study "Chronic diffuse alopecia in women: a retrospective review of histopathologic diagnoses" included 32 female patients with diffuse and clinically noncicatricial alopecia for at least 6 months. The median age was 30.5 years, and the median duration of hair loss was 4 years. Histopathologic diagnoses were androgenetic alopecia in 13 patients (40.6%), chronic telogen effluvium in 3 patients (9.4%), overlapping alopecia in 4 patients (12.5%), and a probable diagnosis of diffuse variant of lichen planopilaris in the remaining 12 patients (32.5%). The study concluded that when the clinical diagnosis is not straightforward and no etiologic factor is found, histopathologic examination is mandatory for the accurate diagnosis of the disorder leading to chronic diffuse alopecia in women.