Knowledge, beliefs and perceptions among alopecia areata patients: A cross-sectional study in Faisalabad
Keywords:
Alopecia areata, multifactorial, perceptions, stigmaAbstract
Introduction Alopecia areata (AA) is described as a pathological condition with undesirable, non-predictable hair loss. Being a multifactorial disease, many environmental, immunological, psychological and genetic risk factors attribute the onset and progression of AA. Objective Present study was undertaken to assess awareness, social impact, degree of stigma and management approaches among local AA patients.  Methods The study was cross-sectional & conducted in Dermatology Department of Government General Hospital, Ghulam Muhammad Abad, Faisalabad. The duration of study was six months i.e. from February 2019 to July 2019 recruiting 50 patients. A questionnaire was designed and distributed among participants recruited through convenient sampling method to collect baseline information such as age, gender, age at onset, duration of AA, marital status, education along with knowledge, perceptions and behavior based-queries.  Results With average age of 27.5±2.92 years, 74% participants were male. About 90% participants were married and only 3% were graduates. Majority (62%) had no knowledge about causes of AA. When asked about causative factors, almost 42% of the participants believed that germs and viruses may cause AA. Although family life of 56% respondents was unaffected by disease, yet social life of 66% patients suffered from AA. Depression was experienced by 48% subjects. Availability of economical treatment options was in the knowledge of 50-70% respondents. Conclusion It is concluded that low literacy rate and lack of knowledge about AA can lead to improper treatment options and stress.References
Madani S and Shapiro J. Alopecia areata update. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2000; 42: 549-566.
Ejaz A, Jameel K, Suhail. Pattern and profile of alopecia areata in Pakistan. J Pak Assoc Dermatol.2009; 19:136-140.
Strazulla LC, Wang EHC, Avila L, Sicco KL, et al. Approval of new treatment approaches and overview of current therapies. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2018; 78: 15-24.
Abedini R, Hallaji Z, Lajevardi V, Nasimi M. Quality of life in mild and severe alopecia patients. Int J Women Dermatol.2018.4;191-194.
Masmoudi J, Sellami R, Ouali U, Feki M, et al. Quality of Life in Alopecia Areata: A Sample of Tunisian Patients. Dermatol Res Pract.2013. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/983804.
Olsen E, Hordinsky M, McDonald-Hull S, Price V, et al. Alopecia areata investigational assessment guidelines. National Alopecia Areata Foundation. J Am Acad Dermatol.1999;40(2): 242-246.
Aytekin N, Akcali C, Pehlivan S, et al. Investigation of interleukin-12, interleukin-17 and interleukin-23 receptor gene polymorphisms in alopecia areata. J Int Med Res 2015;43(4): 526-534.
Alves R, Grimalt R. Hair loss in children. Curr Probl Dermatol. 2015; 47:55-66.
Salinas-Santander M, Sánchez-DomÃnguez C, Cantu- Salinas C et al. Association between PTPN22 C1858T polymorphism and alopecia areata risk. Exp Ther Med. 2015;10(5): 1953-1958.
Sharma VK, Kumar B, Dawn G. A clinical study of childhood alopecia areata in Chandigarh, India. Pediatr Dermatol. 1996; 13:372-377.
Tan E, Tay YK, Goh CL. The pattern and proï¬le of alopecia areata in Singapore – a study of 219 Asians. Int J of Dermatol.2002; 41: 748-753.
Cartwright, T, Endean N, and Porter A. Illness perceptions, coping and quality of life in patients with alopecia. Br J Dermatol.2009;160(5):1034-1039.
Dubois M, Baumstarck-Barrau K, Gaudy-Marquesteetal C. Quality of life in alopecia areata: a study of 60 cases. J Invest Dermatol.2010;130(12):2830-2833.
Gulec AT, Tanriverdi N, Duru D et al. The role of psychological factors in alopecia areata and the impact of the disease on the quality of life. Int J Dermatol.2004; 43(5): 352-356.
Christensen H, Yang JH, Soccio LC. Bullying and quality of life in pediatric alopecia areata. Skin Appendage Disord.2017; 3:115-118.
Cash F. The psychosocial consequences of androgenetic alopecia: a review of the research literature. British J Dermatol.1999;141(3): 398-405.
Cash TF. The psychology of hair loss and its implications for patient care. Clin Dermatol.2001;19(2): 161-166.
Simakou T, Butcher JP, Reid S, Henriquez FL. Alopecia areata: A multifactorial autoimmune condition. J Autoimmune.2019; 98:74-85.
Juárez-Rendon KJ. Sánchez JR., Alopecia Areata. Current situation and perspectives. Arch Argent Pediatr. 2017;115(6): e404-e411.
Dawber, R. Cosmetic and medical causes of hair weathering. J Cosmet Dermatol.2002; 1: 196-201
York J, Nicholson T, Minors P. Stressful life events and loss of hair among adult women, a case-control study. Psychol Rep.1998; 82: 1044-1046.
Grahovac T, Ruzic K, Sepic-Grahovac D, Dadic-Hero E. Depressive disorder and alopecia. Psychiatr Danub. 2010; 22: 293-295.
Burgener SC, Buckwalter K, Perkhounkova Y, Liu MF. The effects of perceived stigma on quality of life outcomes in persons with early-stage dementia: Longitudinal findings: Part 2. Dementia. 2015; 14:609-632.
Harcourt D, Frith H. Women's experiences of an altered appearance during chemotherapy: An indication of cancer status. J Health Psychol. 2008; 13:597-606.
Kathryn C, Lisa S, Cecilia R, Marie S. The enigma of the stigma of hair loss. Why is cancer-treatment related alopecia so traumatic for women. Open Cancer J. 2013; 6:1-8.
Hajheydari Z, Jamshidi M, Akbari J, Mohammadpur R. Combination of topical garlic gel and betamethasone valerate cream in the treatment of localized alopecia areata: A double-blind randomized controlled study. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol.2007;73:29-32
Wesserman D, Sanchez DAG, Scott K, McMichael A. Alopecia areata. Int J Dermatol.2007; 46:121-131.
Taylor SE. Adjustment to threatening events: A theory of cognitive adaptation. Amer Psychol.1983; 38:1161-1173.
