Prevalence of thyroid disorders in patients with alopecia areata

ABSTRACT

To study the prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disorders - thyroid auto-antibodies in patients with alopecia areata [AA] in Kerman, a city in South-East part of Iran. 52 patients with AA from those attending the dermatology ward of Afzalipour hospital in Kerman were enrolled. An equal number of age- and sex-matched controls [n=52] was included. Physical examination of thyroid was done for all patients and controls. The rate of positivity of anti-thyroid peroxidase [TPO] antibodies and abnormal thyroid hormone levels in both groups were measured and compared. In both cases and controls, 48.1% and 51.9% were males and females, respectively. The mean age in group of cases and control groups were 30.55 and 31.80 years, respectively. The number of lesions ranged from 1 to 10, and the duration of disease ranged from 0.6 to 96 months. No meaningful statistical difference was seen between prevalence of thyroid disorders in patients of AA and controls. In this study no correlation between AA and thyroid disorders was noted.