Study: Not all Alopecia Areata Patients Might Suffer Vitamin D Deficiency
Alopecia areata (AA) has been postulated to be an autoimmune disease affecting the hair follicles. Environmental costimulatory factors, such as infection, stress, or trauma, have also been implicated. In a study, researchers have found a trend toward the increased percentage of vitamin D-deficient individuals among AA patients that provide insight into the association of vitamin D with AA....
Alopecia areata (AA) has been postulated to be an autoimmune disease affecting the hair follicles. Environmental costimulatory factors, such as infection, stress, or trauma, have also been implicated. In a study, researchers have found a trend toward the increased percentage of vitamin D-deficient individuals among AA patients that provide insight into the association of vitamin D with AA. The study findings were published in the Journal of The American Academy of Dermatology(JAAD) on September 18, 2021.
Currently, there is evidence that the levels of vitamin D are lower in AA patients than in healthy controls. However, few studies did not demonstrate significantly lower levels of vitamin D in AA patients. Hence, the need for local data on vitamin D levels in AA patients remains crucial. Therefore, Dr Felix Paolo J. Lizarondo and his team conducted a study to determine serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and the percentage of vitamin D deficiency in AA patients and compare them with those in healthy controls in a Philippine tertiary hospital.
In a cross-sectional study, the researchers included 29 AA patients and 29 healthy controls. They assessed the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels using the chemiluminescent immunoassay method.
Key findings of the study:
- Upon analysis, the researchers found no significant difference in the mean vitamin D levels between AA patients (24.41 ± 6.87 ng/mL) and healthy controls (24.68 ± 6.68 ng/mL).
- They noted that the percentage of patients with vitamin D deficiency, defined as <20 ng/mL, trended to higher among AA patients (34.4%) than among healthy controls (17.2%), with an odds ratio of 2.53. However, this was not statistically significant.
The authors concluded, "The factors that can help determine which AA patients will benefit from vitamin D testing in an AA setting include high SALT scores, younger age, female sex, sun exposure of <30 minutes per day, and lighter skin phototype."
They further added, "Further nationwide studies are needed to determine the true prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among Filipino patients with AA. Further research on vitamin D supplementation can also be performed for a subset of AA patients with concomitant vitamin D deficiency."
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