Evaluation of Quality of Life, Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Alopecia Areata: A Prospective Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Alopecia areata (AA) is an immune response-driven, scarless hair disease specified by the destruction of hair follicles by an inflammatory response resulting from the loss of immune privilege.Apart from posing a cosmetic concern, it is a condition that impacts patients due to its chronic, unpredictable course and the lack of a definitive treatment.This study sought to explore the psychosocial state of patients with AA during its acute phase and compare them with a control group. MATERIALS AND METHODS:This multicenter, prospective case-control study contained 70 patients with AA and 70 voluntary controls.The AA group included patients with recent onset or recurrent AA with a disease duration of under one year.After the demographic information and clinical traits of the patients were recorded, the study group was asked to complete the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) and the dermatology life quality index (DLQI) to appraise their psychological well-being and quality of life. RESULTS:In this study, the psychosocial characteristics of 140 participants were evaluated.The AA cohort comprised 70 patients, while the control cohort included 70 individuals matched for age and gender.Of the 70 patients with AA, 45 (64.3%) were men, and 25 (35.7%) were women, with a median age of 29 (interquartile range = 12.25) years.The median anxiety and depression scores according to HADS (HADS-Anxiety and HADS-Depression) were markedly elevated in the patient group compared to controls.Additionally, the median DLQI score of the patient group was substantially greater than that of the control group, which was statistically significant. CONCLUSION:The outcomes of our study indicated that anxiety and depression scores were elevated in patients with acute AA compared to the controls.Therefore, it is essential for clinicians to recognize and address psychiatric comorbidities in patients with AA, even during the early period of the condition.