Impact of demographic features and clinical factors on quality of life of patients with alopecia areata

Alopecia areata is a non-cicatricial alopecia that profoundly affects patients’ quality of life. In this study, we evaluated the influence of demographic and clinical features of alopecia areata patients on their quality of life. This cross-sectional study was performed on alopecia areata patients at the Dermatology Clinic of Afzalipour Hospital, Kerman. Firstly, demographic features and clinical data were collected. Then, the severity of alopecia areata [based on the severity of alopecia tool (SALT) score] and quality of life of the patients [using dermatology life quality index (DLQI) and child dermatology life quality index (CDLQI)] were calculated. Finally, the impacts of the patient’sdemographic and clinical features on quality of life were evaluated via multivariate logistic regression. One hundred and thirty-five patients with alopecia areata were enrolled in the study. The mean SALT score was 6.63 ± 6.34 (range 2–64). Mean DLQI scores for mild and moderate cases of AA were 7.4 and 12.5, respectively (P = 0.57). Females had significantly higher DLQI scores compared to males. Furthermore, patients with negative family history of alopecia areata had significantly higher DLQI scores than patients with positive family history (P = 0.03). We found no significant difference in quality of life between patients with different alopecia areata severities. However, females and patients with a negative family history of alopecia experienced significantly greater negative impacts on quality of life than males and those with a positive family history.