Factors Affecting the Psychosocial Distress of Patients with Alopecia Areata: A Nationwide Study in Korea

    October 2018 in “ Journal of Investigative Dermatology ”
    Hee Seong Yoon, Jung Min Bae, Seung Dohn Yeom, Woo Young Sim, Won Soo Lee, Hoon Kang, Yang Won Lee, Ki Ho Kim, Do Won Kim, Moon Bum Kim, Seong‐Jin Kim, Bark Lynn Lew, Oh Sang Kwon, Chang Hun Huh, Dong Youn Lee, Byung In Ro, Jin Park, Beom Joon Kim, Young Lee, Gwang Seong Choi
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    TLDR Many patients with Alopecia Areata in Korea experience anxiety, depression, and reduced quality of life, which are often unrelated to the severity of hair loss.
    In a 2015-2016 nationwide study involving 1,203 Alopecia Areata (AA) patients from 15 hospitals in Korea, researchers found significant psychosocial distress among the participants. Anxiety was reported by 10.1% of patients, with 4.2% experiencing severe anxiety. Depression was more common, with 40.9% of patients affected and 9.4% suffering from severe depression. Quality of life was notably impaired, with 30.3% reporting issues in the symptoms domain, 71.3% in functioning, and 81.7% in emotions, with severe impairment reported by 9.9%, 48.7%, and 60.2% in these domains, respectively. Female sex, greater disease severity, and longer disease duration were linked to higher psychosocial distress. The study highlighted that AA patients frequently face psychosocial challenges, including anxiety, depression, and reduced quality of life, which are not directly proportional to the clinical severity of hair loss, suggesting the need for dermatologists to address these issues in treatment plans.
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