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. 2019 Aug;5(5):293-298.
doi: 10.1159/000497166. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Psychological Profile and Quality of Life of Patients with Alopecia Areata

Rosalía Del Carmen Vélez-Muñiz  1 , María Luisa Peralta-Pedrero  1 , Fermín Jurado-Santa Cruz  1 , Martha Alejandra Morales-Sánchez  1
Affiliations

Psychological Profile and Quality of Life of Patients with Alopecia Areata

Rosalía Del Carmen Vélez-Muñiz et al. Skin Appendage Disord. 2019 Aug.

Abstract

Alopecia areata (AA) is a nonscarring alopecia with an autoimmune etiology, unpredictable course, multiple presentations, and variable psychological distress. We conducted a cross-sectional study which included 126 patients with AA. A complete medical history was documented using the Severity Alopecia Tool (SALT) to assess the severity of the disease, and the following questionnaires were applied to the participants: the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Plutchik Suicide Risk Scale, and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) for adults. The Child Dermatology Life Quality Index (cDLQI) and the Birleson Depression Self-Rating Scale questionnaires were applied for children. Quality of life (QoL) disturbance was detected in 77.6% of adult participants, 65.9% of them had signs of depression or anxiety, and 12.8% were at risk of committing suicide. The PSS-14 average score for adults was 24.5. QoL disturbance was detected in 76.7% of children participants, and 6.3% of them showed signs of depression with the Birleson Depression Self-Rating Scale. We conclude that patients with AA could experience changes in their QoL and signs of depression, anxiety, and suicide risk, mainly in the adult population, during the course of the disease.

Keywords: Alopecia areata; Anxiety; Depression; Quality of life; Scalp diseases.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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