Evaluation of the Serum C-Reactive Protein–Albumin Ratio and Its Relationship with Disease Severity in Alopecia Areata: A Prospective Case–Control Study

This study investigated the serum C-reactive protein (CRP)/albumin ratio (CAR) in 65 alopecia areata (AA) patients compared to 65 healthy controls, aiming to correlate CAR with disease severity. The findings revealed that the mean CAR level in AA patients (0.42 ± 0.3) was significantly higher than in healthy controls (0.07 ± 0.04), with a positive correlation between CAR and disease severity (r = 0.65; p < 0.01). The study concluded that CAR is a useful inflammatory marker in AA patients, indicating that AA is associated with systemic inflammation. The optimal CAR for assessing AA severity was 0.38, with 87% sensitivity and 92% specificity.