Severe Hair Loss Associated with Psychotropic Drugs in Psychiatric Inpatients—Data from an Observational Pharmacovigilance Program in German-Speaking Countries
August 2018
in “
European Psychiatry
”
TLDR Some psychiatric drugs can cause severe hair loss, especially valproic acid, and it's more likely in women or those with thyroid issues or past hair loss.
Between 1993 and 2013, a study involving 404,009 psychiatric inpatients treated with psychotropic drugs (PDs) across 83 hospitals in German-speaking countries found a 0.01% rate of severe hair loss, with valproic acid associated with the highest risk. The majority of those affected were female, and hair loss was more common in patients with thyroid dysfunctions or previous hair loss experiences. The mean time to onset of hair loss after starting medication was 37.8 days, and symptoms improved for 67.4% of patients after discontinuing or reducing the dosage of the implicated drugs. The study, which was limited to severe cases and inpatient settings, suggests the need for awareness of hair loss as a potential side effect of PDs, especially valproic acid, despite the rarity of such adverse drug reactions.
