BACKGROUND

The etiology of premature hair graying (PHG) remains incompletely understood with limited treatment options, although has profound impacts on patient's quality of life.

AIMS

To assess demographic and clinical profiles of Egyptian PHG patients and explore association of various epidemiological risk factors and serum vitamin D and ferritin levels with PHG.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Three hundred PHG patients and equal number of controls, aged <30 years, were included. Assessment of epidemiological and clinical characteristics, biometric data and stress perception using perceived stress scale (PSS-10) was done, with measurement of serum vitamin D and ferritin levels for all subjects. PHG was graded into mild, moderate, and severe if <10, 10-100, and >100 gray hairs, respectively. Statistical significance for various compared parameters was done employing suitable tests, with P-value ≤ .05 considered significant.

RESULTS

Results reported significant positive relation of PHG with family history, sedentary life style, and stress (P = .001, .029, and .001, respectively), while no significant relation with smoking, body mass index, or frequent hair dyes use (>3 per year) (P = .425, .5, and .65, respectively). No significant difference was found in mean vitamin D between patients and controls (23.79 ± 13.01 ng/mL vs 24.85 ± 13.19 ng/mL, P = .701), while low serum ferritin (<20 ng/mL) was significantly associated with PHG (14.7 % patients vs 2.7% controls, P = .017).

CONCLUSION

PHG in Egyptian population is significantly associated with positive family history, stress, sedentary life style, and low serum ferritin level, while role of vitamin D deficiency should be further evaluated.