Quality of Life Assessment in Male Patients with Androgenetic Alopecia: Result of a Prospective, Multicenter Study.
- Author:
Sung Hyub HAN
1
;
Ji Won BYUN
;
Won Soo LEE
;
Hoon KANG
;
Yong Chul KYE
;
Ki Ho KIM
;
Do Won KIM
;
Moon Bum KIM
;
Seong Jin KIM
;
Hyung Ok KIM
;
Woo Young SIM
;
Tae Young YOON
;
Chang Hun HUH
;
Seung Sik HWANG
;
Byung In RO
;
Gwang Seong CHOI
Author Information
- Publication Type:Multicenter Study ; Original Article
- Keywords: Alopecia; Androgenetic; Quality of life
- MeSH: Alopecia; Female; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Hair; Humans; Male; Prospective Studies; Puberty; Quality of Life
- From:Annals of Dermatology 2012;24(3):311-318
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: BACKGROUND: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common hair loss disease with genetic predisposition among men and women, and it may commence at any age after puberty. It may significantly affect a variety of psychological and social aspects of one's life and the individual's overall quality of life (QoL). OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the QoL of AGA patients and discover the factors that can influence the QoL of AGA patients, including previous experience in non-medical hair care, reasons for hospital visits, age, duration, and the severity of AGA. METHODS: A total of 998 male patients with AGA were interviewed, using the Hair Specific Skindex-29 to evaluate the QoL of AGA patients. RESULTS: The results of the Hair Specific Skindex-29 on patients with AGA were as follows: symptom scale: 26.3+/-19.5, function scale: 24.0+/-20.1, emotion scale: 32.1+/-21.8, and global score: 27.3+/-19.1. According to this assessment, QoL was more damaged if the patient had severe alopecia, a longer duration of AGA, younger age, had received previous non-medical hair care, and visited the hospital for AGA treatment. CONCLUSION: This study showed that AGA could harmfully affect the patients' QoL. These findings indicate that dermatologists should address these QoL issues when treating patients with alopecia.
