Comorbid Conditions Associated With Alopecia Areata: A Systematic Review and Update
April 2023
in “
Journal of Investigative Dermatology
”
alopecia areata ulcerative colitis juvenile idiopathic arthritis vitiligo psoriasis systemic lupus erythematous type 1 diabetes metabolic syndrome ocular abnormalities thyroid abnormalities hypertension non-melanoma skin cancer colorectal cancer type 2 diabetes myocardial infarction AA lupus heart attack
TLDR People with Alopecia Areata are more likely to have certain health issues like ulcerative colitis and type 1 diabetes, but less likely to have others like hypertension and type 2 diabetes.
This systematic review and meta-analysis of 90 studies, involving 525,015 patients with Alopecia Areata (AA) and 71,885,628 healthy controls, aimed to provide an updated understanding of medical comorbidities associated with AA. The study found that patients with AA had higher odds of having comorbidities such as ulcerative colitis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, vitiligo, psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematous, type 1 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, ocular abnormalities, and thyroid abnormalities. Interestingly, AA may act as a protective factor against certain disorders, with lower odds among the AA group for conditions like hypertension, non-melanoma skin cancer, colorectal cancer, type 2 diabetes, and myocardial infarction. These findings help to understand the risks across comorbidities for patients with AA, and further research is needed to identify the underlying pathophysiology and appropriate screening criteria.
