Clinical Study of Alopecia Areata in Children over a 10-year Period (2007∼2017) / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

Background@#Alopecia areata (AA) is a non-scarring, autoimmune, inflammatory hair loss on the scalp and/or the body. The disease affects both adults and children, but there are limited data on AA in children compared to AA in adults. @*Objective@#The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and psychiatric dynamics of pediatric AA and its correlation with underlying diseases from 2007 to 2017. @*Methods@#A retrospective study was performed on 187 outpatients under 14 years of age who were diagnosed with alopecia areata in the Alopecia Clinic of the Department of Dermatology at Myongji Hospital from March 2007 to February 2017. @*Results@#The proportion of pediatric patients with alopecia areata was 16.8% (187/1112). Clinically, alopecia areata was found in 171 patients (91.4%); alopecia totalis, 10 patients (5.3%); and alopecia universalis, 6 patients (3.2%). The ratio of male (85; 45.5%) to female (102; 54.5%) patients was 11.2. Alopecia areata was observed most frequently in patients of school age (105 patients; 56.1%), and the duration was less than 1 year in most cases (75.9%). A family history of alopecia areata was observed in 11.2% of the patients (21/187). The patients most susceptible to the disease were only children, eldest children, those who were overloaded with school work, and those with deficient parent–child relationships, including familial discord. A single bald patch was observed in 50.3% of the patients, and the most commonly associated disease was atopic dermatitis (36 patients; 46.2%). @*Conclusion@#We analyzed several clinical features of pediatric AA, including epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and associated diseases. This study provides useful data for future research regarding AA in children.