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. 2023 Oct 15;4(1):e301.
doi: 10.1002/ski2.301. eCollection 2024 Feb.

Establishing the financial burden of alopecia areata and its predictors

Fabio Zucchelli  1 , Matthew Harries  2   3 , Andrew Messenger  4 , Kerry Montgomery  5
Affiliations

Establishing the financial burden of alopecia areata and its predictors

Fabio Zucchelli et al. Skin Health Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Alopecia areata (AA) can have a significant impact on wellbeing. Consequently, individuals with AA often seek treatments or products to promote hair regrowth or camouflage their hair loss that incur a financial cost to the individual.

Objectives: The current study aimed to examine the direct financial burden of AA to understand the wider impact of the condition and the factors which influence spending on products and services.

Methods: A total of 829 United Kingdom based participants completed an online survey. Demographic and condition-specific data were collected, alongside spending on AA-related products and services. Participants were asked about their use of products and services, the associated costs, how they financed these costs, and their household income to determine what percentage of income they spent on products and services.

Results: Participants predominantly identified as female (85.9%), white (92.7%) with a mean age of 42.7 years and a median AA duration of 10.94 years. Female gender, Asian ethnicity, lower income, and worse AA symptoms predicted higher spend from income. Wigs were the most common product used and incurred the greatest cost (median £700). The highest cost for men was private dermatology services (median = £550). On average people spent 3% of their disposable income (prior to housing costs) on AA-related products and services.

Conclusions: This study outlines the risk factors associated with higher financial burden from managing AA which require consideration by health providers, commissioners, and policy makers when designing services to support the wellbeing of people living with AA.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr Matthew Harries was Principal Investigator on the Soterios (Manentia) clinical trial for alopecia areata; He has previously held consultancy roles for Eli Lilly and Pfizer (paid to his institution). His consultancy on the current project was gifted to Alopecia UK. Dr Andrew Messenger was a collaborator on the Soterios (Manentia) clinical trial for alopecia areata. He has previously held consultancy roles for Pfizer. Dr Kerry Montgomery was awarded the grant from Pfizer as Principal Investigator and member of Alopecia UK to conduct the current study. Dr Fabio Zucchelli was contracted by Alopecia UK as an independent academic researcher for the current study. Pfizer had no involvement nor consultation in any of the study design, data collection, data analysis and manuscript preparation.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
AAPPO‐HL severity frequencies by hair loss site (n = 826).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Participants' strategies for managing AA‐related costs (n = 764).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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