Volume 34, Issue 4 e14979
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Metabolic syndrome in patients with Alopecia Areata: A case-control study

Fahimeh Abdollahimajd

Fahimeh Abdollahimajd

Skin Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Clinical Research Development Unit, Shohada-e Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

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Nasim Niknezhad

Nasim Niknezhad

Skin Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

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Negin Bahreini

Negin Bahreini

Skin Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

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Shima Younespour

Shima Younespour

Dentistry Research institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

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Nastaran Namazi

Corresponding Author

Nastaran Namazi

Skin Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Correspondence

Nastaran Namazi MD, Skin Research Center, Loghman Hakim Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Email: [email protected]

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First published: 15 May 2021
Citations: 9

Fahimeh Abdollahimajd and Nasim Niknezhad contributed equally to this work and are considered as co-first authors

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate metabolic syndrome prevalence in patients with Alopecia Areata compared to controls. Sixty eligible patients with Alopecia Areata and 60 healthy subjects frequency matched for age and sex attending to our referral dermatology clinics from 2015 to 2017 were enrolled. Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components were compared between the two groups. Metabolic syndrome was only seen in seven patients (11.67%) and four controls (6.67%) without a significant difference (P = .34). The clinical presentations of AA included patch type (38.33%), ophiasis (6.67%), alopecia totalis (16.67%), and alopecia universalis (38.33%). Presence of metabolic syndrome was significantly associated with abdominal circumference (OR: 1.10, 95% CI for OR: 1.02to 1.19). Although there was no significant association between Alopecia Areata and metabolic syndrome, some components of metabolic syndrome were more prevalent in these patients. It may be concluded Alopecia Areata patients are at a higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome in the future. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

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