Quality of Life of Parents with Children with Alopecia Areata

Overview:

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease resulting in non-scarring hair loss of hair-bearing areas, most frequently the scalp with a lifetime incidence of 1-2%. There is no sex predominance and it occurs in all parts of the world.  In the united states it accounts for 2.4 million doctor visits per year.   The more severe variants alopecia totalis (AT) and alopecia universalis (AU) lead to more extensive hair loss .  Due to its visibility, lack of curative therapy, and chronic nature, alopecia areata can create a significant psychosocial burden on patients who suffer from the disease. Though many studies have been conducted to determine psychosocial impact from the patient perspective, caregiver-oriented research is lacking. When available, clinicians could use information from such quality of life (QoL) tools to guide management and tailor support and education for patients and their families.

This was a multi-center, prospective study examining the impact on QoL of parents with children affected by alopecia areata. The overall goal was to quantitatively evaluate impairment in QoL in parents of children with AA. Secondary objectives were to investigate the relationship between scores on QoL tools and severity of disease, child’s QoL, and time since diagnosis.

Status:

This study was funded as a 2017 PeDRA Pilot Grant and is complete, with one publication resulting in 2019 (see publications page).