Quality of life in alopecia areata: A disease specific questionnaire

: Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease, impacts 2% of the population worldwide and has a significant impact on the quality of life (QOL) of individuals. : To assess quality of life in patients with alopecia areata using Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). To study the quality of life in relation to age group and gender. : In this study 40 patients with alopecia areata were enrolled and asked to complete the DLQI questionnaire. : Out of the 40 patients with AA, there were 26 (65%) males and 14 (35%) females with a male to female ratio of 1.85: 1. A majority (58.03%) of patients were between 31 and 40 years of age. Employees and students were more affected. Patients with longer duration had moderate to very large effect on QOL. 65% patients were concerned about their disease. : This study indicates that alopecia areata has a small to very large effect on the quality of life of the patients. Hence, Psychological evaluation and support should be considered.