Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in Alopecia Areata Patients—A Secondary Analysis of the National Alopecia Areata Registry Data

Alopecia areata (AA) is a nonscarring and recurrent disease characterized by hair loss that may significantly affect patient health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Given the lack of reliable and accurate reporting of HRQoL status in patients with AA, we analyzed data from 532 AA patients from the National Alopecia Areata Registry whose registry record included HRQoL assessments using three validated instruments: Skindex-16, brief version of the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, and Dermatology Life Quality Index. The mean HRQoL scores were compared with previously reported HRQoL levels from healthy controls and patients with other skin diseases. Two-step cluster analysis of Skindex-16 scales divided patients into two groups: 481 (57%) with good HRQoL and 361 (43%) with poor HRQoL. Multivariate logistic regression modeling revealed a set of risk factors for poor HRQoL: age <50 years (odds ratio (OR) 3.99, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.66–9.58), female gender (OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.73–4.34), hair loss 25–99% (OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.12–5.45), family stress (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.13–2.86), and job change (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.02–3.94). The current analysis provides an overview of the HRQoL status of AA patients and may guide patient care in the future.