Skin Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Dermatology, Shohada-e-Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
J Cosmet Dermatol. 2023 Sep;22(9):2579-2583. doi: 10.1111/jocd.15754. Epub 2023 Apr 5.
Alopecia areata (AA) is an immune-mediated nonscarring hair loss disorder with multiple subtypes, including alopecia universalis (AU). Previous studies have shown a link between serum lipid profile and alopecia. We aimed to investigate the frequency of fatty liver in patients with AU and patchy alopecia areata (PAA) compared to a control group.
This case-control study included patients with AU and PAA referred to a dermatology clinic from September 23, 2019 to September 23, 2020. A group of individuals without hair loss disorders attending the same clinic were selected as controls. Participants' general information, including age, sex, weight, height, and waist circumference (WC), was recorded. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated for all participants. Also, hyperlipidemia and statin use were noted and liver enzymes were evaluated. For AU and PAA patients, disease duration and the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score were also recorded. Then, all subjects underwent ultrasound to assess fatty liver and its grade.
Overall, 32 patients were included in each group. All three groups were comparable in age, sex, weight, height, BMI, WC, hyperlipidemia, abnormal liver enzymes, and statin use. Disease duration and SALT score were significantly higher in the AU than in the PAA group (p = 0.009 and p < 0.001, respectively). The frequency of fatty liver was the highest in AU patients (40.6%), followed by 34.4% in PAA patients, and 21.9% in controls (p = 0.263). This was also the case for grade-1 fatty liver, while grade-2 was more common in PAA patients, and grade-3 was only observed in one patient from the AU group (p = 0.496).
Fatty liver was more frequent in AU and PAA patients than controls, without statistically significant differences. There might be an association between fatty liver and AA, particularly the AU subtype.
斑秃（AA）是一种免疫介导的非瘢痕性脱发疾病，有多种亚型，包括全秃（AU）。先前的研究表明血清脂质谱与脱发之间存在关联。我们旨在研究 AU 患者和斑状斑秃（PAA）患者与对照组相比脂肪肝的发生率。
本病例对照研究纳入了 2019 年 9 月 23 日至 2020 年 9 月 23 日期间到皮肤科诊所就诊的 AU 和 PAA 患者。选择在同一诊所就诊且无脱发障碍的一组个体作为对照组。记录参与者的一般信息，包括年龄、性别、体重、身高和腰围（WC）。所有参与者的体重指数（BMI）均进行了计算。还记录了高脂血症和他汀类药物的使用情况，并评估了肝酶。对于 AU 和 PAA 患者，还记录了疾病持续时间和脱发严重程度评分（SALT）。然后，所有受试者均接受超声检查以评估脂肪肝及其严重程度。
总体而言，每组纳入 32 例患者。三组在年龄、性别、体重、身高、BMI、WC、高脂血症、异常肝酶和他汀类药物使用方面无差异。AU 组的疾病持续时间和 SALT 评分明显高于 PAA 组（p=0.009 和 p<0.001）。脂肪肝的发生率 AU 患者最高（40.6%），其次是 PAA 患者（34.4%），对照组为 21.9%（p=0.263）。对于 1 级脂肪肝也是如此，而 2 级脂肪肝在 PAA 患者中更为常见，3 级脂肪肝仅在 AU 组的一名患者中观察到（p=0.496）。
AU 和 PAA 患者脂肪肝的发生率高于对照组，但无统计学差异。脂肪肝与 AA 之间可能存在关联，尤其是 AU 亚型。
