Demographic Features, Clinical Factors and Severity of Disease among Patients with Alopecia Areata

Background: Nonscarring hair loss is a key feature of alopecia areata (AA), an autoimmune condition that significantly affects patients' quality of life. Various classification schemes exist to define AA severity, which is evaluated using the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score along with demographic and clinical criteria. Patients and Methods: Cross-sectional research was conducted in the Dermatology Outpatient Clinic at Suez Canal University Hospital in Ismailia, Egypt, between March and July of 2024. Alopecia areata (AA) severity was assessed using the Severity of Alopecia Tool II (SALT) score, Participants also underwent general and dermatological examinations, and information on comorbid autoimmune illnesses and thorough family histories was recorded. Results: The study observed a patient group with an average age of 22.4±13.5 years, consisting of 10 females and 19 males, predominantly presenting with patchy alopecia areata. The mean severity of illness, assessed using the SALT score, was 4.69±0.48. The analysis revealed a strong significant positive correlation between the number of lesions and disease severity (rs=0.68, p<0.001). Additionally, moderate significant positive correlations were identified between the age of onset and the duration of the disease episode (rs=0.48, P=0.009), as well as between age and the duration of the episode (rs=0.42, P=0.025). Conclusion: Males with AA exhibited greater dominance. The majority of patients have patchy alopecia areata. In addition to an intermediately significant positive link between the age of onset and the length of the episode, there was a highly significant positive correlation between the number of lesions and the severity of the disease.