Study: Not all Alopecia Areata Patients Might Suffer Vitamin D Deficiency

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."

For further information:

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdin.2021.07.008