Assessing a Measure for Quality of Life in Patients with Severe Alopecia Areata: A Multicentric Italian Study

August 2024 in “ Frontiers in Public Health ”

Giacomo Caldarola, Giulia Raimondi, Tonia Samela, Luísa Serpa Pinto, Francesca Pampaloni, Michela Starace, Laura Diluvio, Federica DallʼOglio, Emanuele Vagnozzi, Maria Beatrice de Felici del Giudice, Riccardo Balestri, Francesca Ambrogio, Giampiero Girolomoni, Silvia Francesca Riva, Francesco Moro, Laura Atzori, Giuseppe Gallo, Simone Ribero, Oriana Simonetti, Stefania Barruscotti, Valeria Boccaletti, Angelo Valerio Marzano, Luca Bianchi, Giuseppe Micali, Bianca Maria Piraccini, Alessandro Parisi, Damiano Abeni, Ketty Peris

Alopecia Areata Health-Related Quality of Life HRQoL Skindex-16AA anxiety depression AA

TLDR Alopecia Areata severely impacts mental health, causing anxiety and depression, affecting quality of life.

The study adapted and validated the Skindex-16AA for Italian patients with severe Alopecia Areata (AA), involving 106 patients with a mean age of 40.20 years. Due to poor fit, a revised 8-item version, Skindex-8AA, was developed, showing good psychometric properties, high stability, and reliability. The Skindex-8AA, consisting of Symptoms and Social-Emotional subscales, demonstrated high reliability (McDonald's ω and Cronbach α > 0.86), significant convergent validity with HADS subscales, and adequate test-retest reliability over 4, 12, and 24 weeks. The study supports using Skindex-8AA for assessing quality of life in Italian AA patients and suggests future research with a larger sample.

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Research cited in this study

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Physician and Patient-Reported Severity and Quality of Life Impact of Alopecia Areata: Results from a Real-World Survey in Five European Countries

research Physician and Patient-Reported Severity and Quality of Life Impact of Alopecia Areata: Results from a Real-World Survey in Five European Countries

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Alopecia areata severely impacts quality of life, causing anxiety, depression, and work impairment.

research Psychological Stress-Induced Pathogenesis of Alopecia Areata: Autoimmune and Apoptotic Pathways

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Stress may contribute to hair loss in alopecia areata by affecting immune responses and cell death in hair follicles.

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2 citations , April 2023 in “Expert Review of Clinical Immunology”

Baricitinib is effective as a treatment for severe hair loss.

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20 citations , March 2023 in “American Journal of Clinical Dermatology”

Baricitinib improved severe hair loss in adults over 52 weeks and was safe to use.

The Relationship Between Patient-Reported Severity of Hair Loss and Health-Related Quality of Life and Treatment Patterns Among Patients with Alopecia Areata

research The Relationship Between Patient-Reported Severity of Hair Loss and Health-Related Quality of Life and Treatment Patterns Among Patients with Alopecia Areata

4 citations , March 2022 in “Dermatology and Therapy”

People with moderate hair loss from Alopecia Areata feel more impacted than those with no or almost complete hair loss, and are more likely to seek treatment.

research The Role of Serum Th1, Th2, and Th17 Cytokines in Patients with Alopecia Areata: Clinical Implications

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Alopecia areata severity and treatment response are linked to specific cytokine levels.

research Health-Related Quality of Life, Depression, and Self-Esteem in Patients With Androgenetic Alopecia

15 citations , July 2021 in “JAMA Dermatology”

Androgenetic alopecia negatively affects quality of life and self-esteem, especially in women, but not depression.

Quality of Life Measurement in Alopecia Areata: Position Statement of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Task Force on Quality of Life and Patient-Oriented Outcomes

research Quality of Life Measurement in Alopecia Areata: Position Statement of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Task Force on Quality of Life and Patient-Oriented Outcomes

24 citations , June 2021 in “Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology”

Use specific tools to measure quality of life in alopecia areata patients and improve future treatments.

‘You Lose Your Hair, What’s the Big Deal?’ I Was So Embarrassed, I Was So Self-Conscious, I Was So Depressed: A Qualitative Interview Study to Understand the Psychosocial Burden of Alopecia Areata

research ‘You Lose Your Hair, What’s the Big Deal?’ I Was So Embarrassed, I Was So Self-Conscious, I Was So Depressed: A Qualitative Interview Study to Understand the Psychosocial Burden of Alopecia Areata

30 citations , September 2020 in “Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes”

Alopecia Areata (AA) causes significant emotional distress, including feelings of embarrassment, depression, and anxiety, and impacts social interactions and daily activities.

research Immunology of Alopecia Areata

23 citations , January 2020 in “Central-European Journal of Immunology/Central European Journal of Immunology”

Alopecia areata, a type of hair loss, is likely an autoimmune disease with a genetic link, but its exact cause is still unknown.

research Alopecia Areata and Health-Related Quality of Life: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

128 citations , February 2016 in “British Journal of Dermatology”

Alopecia areata significantly lowers the quality of life, especially in emotional and mental health aspects.

research Clinical Severity Does Not Reliably Predict Quality of Life in Women With Alopecia Areata, Telogen Effluvium, or Androgenic Alopecia

86 citations , May 2011 in “Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology”

How bad a woman's hair loss is doesn't always match how it affects her happiness and daily life.

research Environmental Stress But Not Subjective Distress in Children or Adolescents With Alopecia Areata

43 citations , March 2011 in “Journal of psychosomatic research”

Kids with alopecia areata may experience more stress but not necessarily feel more anxious or depressed than others.

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research Twenty Nail Dystrophy with Alopecia Areata in an Atopic Child

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A child with rough nails also had hair loss and allergies.