Perceived Stigma and Mental Health Disorders Among Adults With Alopecia Areata Living in Japan

Alopecia areata (AA) is a common disorder that causes hair loss and can significantly impact quality of life, which may be partially due to AA-related stigma. Examining the impact of AA on psychosocial health is important for understanding the burden experienced by patients with AA. The primary objective of this study was to examine mental health and sleep conditions, hair growth satisfaction, and AA-related stigma perceptions among individuals diagnosed with AA in Japan. The study used patients' self-reported data collected from the National Health and Wellness Survey conducted in Japan in 2023. Collected data included demographic characteristics and comorbidities; among those with a self-reported clinical diagnosis of AA, additional information on clinical characteristics, treatments, and perceived AA-related stigma was captured. Results were analyzed and stratified by self-assessed disease severity. Among the full sample (30 013 adults living in Japan), 471 respondents reported a clinical diagnosis of AA, including 347 mild cases, 100 moderate cases, and 24 severe cases. A diagnosed mental health disorder in the past year was reported by 57 respondents (12.1%), and 67 (14.2%) reported a diagnosed sleep condition in the past year. Less than half of respondents (47.4%) were satisfied with their current hair growth, and satisfaction decreased with increasing disease severity. Overall, 70.3% of respondents reported feelings of embarrassment, 55.0% felt that others judged them negatively, and 50.3% felt that others treated them negatively due to AA. A higher proportion of respondents with a severe case (54.2%) reported feeling embarrassed to have AA "very much so" compared with respondents who had mild (15.3%) or moderate (26.0%) cases. Perceived AA-associated stigma increased with disease severity. Overall, this study demonstrated the prevalence of AA-related disease stigma and mental health conditions among individuals with AA living in Japan, underscoring the importance of mental health support for patients with AA.