tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
JAAD Int
. 2022 Feb 22.
doi: 10.1016/j.jdin.2022.02.006. Online ahead of print.
Alopecia in COVID-19 Patients: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Betty Nguyen[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Antonella Tosti[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Background: COVID-19 infection is associated with androgenetic alopecia, telogen effluvium, and alopecia areata. No studies have analyzed the aggregate data to date.
Objective: We conducted a systematic review to characterize the types, incidence, timing, and clinical outcomes of COVID-19-associated alopecia.
Methods: We searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Embase for articles published between November 2019 and August 2021 using keywords "alopecia" or "hair" and COVID-19 search terms, identifying 41 original articles describing alopecia patients with COVID-19.
Results: This review includes 1,826 alopecia patients with COVID-19 (mean age 54.5 years, 54.3% male). The most common types of alopecia identified were androgenetic alopecia (30.7%, 86.4% male), telogen effluvium (19.8%, 19.3% male), and alopecia areata (7.8%, 40.0% male). Androgenetic alopecia preceded COVID-19 symptoms. Telogen effluvium was usually newly triggered by COVID-19 (93.6%). Alopecia areata usually occurred in patients with pre-existing disease (95.1%).
Limitations: Definitions of COVID-19 onset varied. Studies differed in methodology and were susceptible to reporting and sampling bias. Studies with large sample sizes might exert disproportionate influence on data.
Conclusion: Androgenetic alopecia may be a risk factor for severe COVID-19 infection, while telogen effluvium presents as a sequela of COVID-19 infection. Alopecia areata generally occurs as a relapse in patients with pre-existing alopecia.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; alopecia; alopecia areata; anagen effluvium; androgenetic alopecia; coronavirus disease 2019; hair loss; telogen effluvium.
. 2022 Feb 22.
doi: 10.1016/j.jdin.2022.02.006. Online ahead of print.
Alopecia in COVID-19 Patients: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Betty Nguyen[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Antonella Tosti[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35224518
- PMCID: PMC8860672
- DOI: 10.1016/j.jdin.2022.02.006
Abstract
Background: COVID-19 infection is associated with androgenetic alopecia, telogen effluvium, and alopecia areata. No studies have analyzed the aggregate data to date.
Objective: We conducted a systematic review to characterize the types, incidence, timing, and clinical outcomes of COVID-19-associated alopecia.
Methods: We searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Embase for articles published between November 2019 and August 2021 using keywords "alopecia" or "hair" and COVID-19 search terms, identifying 41 original articles describing alopecia patients with COVID-19.
Results: This review includes 1,826 alopecia patients with COVID-19 (mean age 54.5 years, 54.3% male). The most common types of alopecia identified were androgenetic alopecia (30.7%, 86.4% male), telogen effluvium (19.8%, 19.3% male), and alopecia areata (7.8%, 40.0% male). Androgenetic alopecia preceded COVID-19 symptoms. Telogen effluvium was usually newly triggered by COVID-19 (93.6%). Alopecia areata usually occurred in patients with pre-existing disease (95.1%).
Limitations: Definitions of COVID-19 onset varied. Studies differed in methodology and were susceptible to reporting and sampling bias. Studies with large sample sizes might exert disproportionate influence on data.
Conclusion: Androgenetic alopecia may be a risk factor for severe COVID-19 infection, while telogen effluvium presents as a sequela of COVID-19 infection. Alopecia areata generally occurs as a relapse in patients with pre-existing alopecia.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; alopecia; alopecia areata; anagen effluvium; androgenetic alopecia; coronavirus disease 2019; hair loss; telogen effluvium.