Even though reactions to the disease are different for everyone, there are some common emotions that many people who have alopecia areata and the people around them say that they experience. These include feelings of grief, anxiety, loss, fear, embarrassment, loneliness and anger.
According to the study — published in the Journal of Dermatological Reviews — that ascertained the impact of alopecia or hair loss on the quality of life among adults in India, many of the questionnaire respondents “reported feeling ashamed, embarrassed, frustrated, humiliated, or annoyed due to alopecia”.
Loss of self-confidence, lowered self-esteem, and heightened self-consciousness are common responses to hair loss, particularly for women. People with alopecia are more likely to develop depression and anxiety.
Alopecia areata (AA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease characterized by hair loss that can affect the scalp, face (e.g. eyebrows and eyelashes) and body [1].
Because hair loss and regrowth from alopecia areata is unpredictable and sometimes cyclical (comes back again and again), having the condition can be frustrating and emotionally challenging for many people.
Hair is a big part of our identity. It's normal to be upset if you see signs of change, especially because hair loss might also cause other worries about your health. Losing your hair can trigger a range of emotions, from shame and anger to fear and even depression.
While the disease is not medically serious, it can impact people psychologically. Support groups are available to help people with alopecia areata deal with the psychological effects of the condition. Further information may be found at the National Alopecia Areata Foundation (www.naaf.org).
“Alopecia Areata itself does not compromise the immune system or cause immune deficiency and there is no reason to think that people with Alopecia Areata are more at risk from COVID-19 than the general population, either in terms of catching the virus or being more severely affected by it.
In most people, new hair eventually grows back in the affected areas, although this process can take months. Approximately 50 percent of people with mild alopecia areata recover within a year; however, most people will experience more than one episode during their lifetime.
Alopecia areata is not medically disabling; persons with alopecia areata are usually in excellent health. But emotionally, this disease can be challenging, especially for those with extensive hair loss.
Multiple studies have linked male pattern hair loss to lowered self-esteem and decreased confidence. A 2019 study in the International Journal of Trichology found that androgenic alopecia lowered the quality of life for many men, with particular effects in the areas of self-perception and interpersonal relations.
In June 2022 , a medication called baricitinib (Olumiant) received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat severe cases of alopecia areata. It's the first FDA-approved systemic treatment for alopecia. This type of systemic treatment helps treat hair loss all over the body.
Alopecia areata is more common among African Americans but less common among Asians, compared with whites, according to a new study involving registry data for more than 11,000 individuals.
Alopecia areata can occur at any age but about half of cases come on in childhood and 80% of cases come on before the age of 40 years. Men and women are equally affected. The condition tends to be milder if it comes on at an older age.
Androgenic alopecia (AGA) is associated with significant cardiovascular risk factors that also have a negative impact on brain aging.
If you have alopecia areata, it generally doesn't cause pain or other symptoms. However, some people say that right before they lose their hair, they feel tingling, itching, or burning on the skin where the hair will fall out.
How Long does Hair Loss Last? In half of patients with alopecia areata, individual episodes of hair loss last less than one year, and hair grows back without treatment. These patients may experience recurrent episodes of hair loss that spontaneously regrow or respond quickly to treatments.
It may be progressive, meaning it gets worse over time, or it may not. For some people, small bare patches join together and turn into large patches. You're more likely to have extensive alopecia areata if: You have eczema.
The extent of alopecia (how much hair has fallen out) varies and links to the different subtypes. Some said their hair loss involved one small patch about the size of a 1p coin which regrew after a few weeks or months. Others developed more patches which sometimes joined up into bigger bald areas over time.
Compared with the general population, increased prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders are associated with alopecia (Koo et al., 1994) suggesting that people with alopecia may be at higher risk for development of a major depressive episode, anxiety disorder, social phobia or paranoid disorder.
While some men are able to easily accept the loss of their hair, there are others who fall into a spiral of depression and insecurity due to their changed appearance. They often have increased anxiety and despair due to an inability to stop their changing appearance.
Some have bouts of hair loss throughout their lives, while others only have one episode. Recovery is unpredictable too, with hair regrowing fully in some people but not others. There is no cure for alopecia areata, but there are treatments that help hair grow back more quickly.