Assessing the Quality of Life and Health Outcomes of Androgenic Alopecia Patients Using Propecia

January 2016

Naif Abdulaziz Alanazi

androgenic alopecia Propecia Minoxidil Quality of Life SF-36 Quality of Life Scale erectile dysfunction lack of libido depression suicidal thoughts Rogaine QoL

TLDR Propecia users with Androgenic Alopecia experienced a lower quality of life and more serious side effects compared to those using Minoxidil.

In 2015, a study was conducted on 90 male patients with Androgenic Alopecia using Propecia and 157 using Minoxidil. The study aimed to assess the Quality of Life (QoL) of these patients using the SF-36 Quality of Life Scale. It was found that patients using Propecia experienced a statistically significant decrease in QoL compared to those using Minoxidil, with the most affected health component being Role Limitation Due to an Emotional Problem. Serious side effects such as erectile dysfunction, lack of libido, depression, and in some cases suicidal thoughts were reported among Propecia users. A correlation was also found between the duration of Propecia use and the worsening of the QoL score. However, the ages of the patients and their compliance were not found to be related to the score.

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