Vitamin D Status in Scarring and Nonscarring Alopecia
April 2018
in “
Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology
”
TLDR People with certain types of hair loss, especially lichen planopilaris and telogen effluvium, as well as African Americans, Asians, and men, are more likely to have severe vitamin D deficiency.
The study "Vitamin D status in scarring and nonscarring alopecia" evaluated the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in 358 patients with different types of hair loss, including alopecia areata (AA), androgenic alopecia (AGA), central centrifugal scarring alopecia (CCCA), lichen planopilaris (LPP), and telogen effluvium (TE). The study found that 64.8% of patients had vitamin D deficiency, with patients with LPP having 8.3 times higher odds of severe vitamin D deficiency, and TE patients having 3.7 times higher odds compared to AA. African Americans and Asians had 6.3 and 6.1 times greater odds of severe vitamin D deficiency compared to Caucasians, respectively. Men had a higher incidence of vitamin D deficiency, regardless of other factors. The study suggests that testing for vitamin D deficiency should be considered in patients with alopecia due to its high prevalence. The efficacy of vitamin D supplementation is controversial, but the authors recommend giving cholecalciferol 50,000 IU once weekly for 12 weeks followed by 2,000 IU daily.
