Alopecia Areata patients have higher rates of anxiety and depression, says study

France: AA patients experience anxiety and depressive disorders requiring psychiatric care. Some isolated symptoms are the warning signs that need monitoring due to the risk of developing into disorders, findings from a study have revealed. The results appeared in JAMA Dermatology.

Two meta-analyses revealed a high prevalence of anxiety and depression in AA patients. The analyses highly pointed association of AA with anxiety and depression, and no difference exists between disorders and symptoms.

For this purpose, the researchers performed a large meta-analysis separating the depressive and anxiety disorders prevalence from depressive and anxiety symptoms in such patients using data sources like Pubmed, the Cochrane library, ScienceDirect, Embase and PsycINFO. The researchers used MOOSE reporting guidelines, Pooled prevalence and meta-regressions in the study.

Based on the study, the researchers reported the following findings:

· The inclusion criteria were met by 37 articles, including 29 on depression and 26 on anxiety.

· By distinguishing between disorders and symptoms, the results depicted 9 % prevalence of depressive disorders and a 13 % prevalence of unspecified anxiety disorders. These findings were greater when compared to the general population.

· 37 % of patients had depressive symptoms having OR 2.70.

· 34 % of patients had anxiety symptoms having OR of 3.07

The findings of our study show that 7% to 17% of AA patients had depressive or anxiety disorders requiring specific medicine and psychiatric care, and more than one-third of patients had symptoms exhibiting warning signs that could develop into disorders, they wrote.

Further reading:

Lauron S et al. Prevalence and Odds of Depressive and Anxiety Disorders and Symptoms in Children and Adults With Alopecia Areata: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Dermatol. Published online January 25, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2022.6085