Telogen Effluvium Secondary to Starvation Diet - Reply

In a letter to the editor from 1976, Major John P. Kaufman, MC USAF, reported a case of telogen effluvium in a 20-year-old woman following substantial weight loss due to a starvation diet. The patient experienced a profuse hair loss after losing approximately 15.8 kg (35 lb) on a 200 calorie per day diet and again after a less severe diet resulting in a loss of 6.3 kg (14 lb). Both instances of hair loss were associated with a high percentage of telogen hairs that were easily extractable, with counts of 30% and 27% respectively. The patient's hair loss improved after discontinuing the diet. This case was considered an addition to previous reports by Goette and Odom, who had described similar cases and suggested that crash dieting and substantial weight loss might be a cause for the precipitation of telogen effluvium. Kaufman's report supports the hypothesis that extreme weight loss can trigger this condition.