The psychosocial burden of androgenetic alopecia in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

• Published in: Journal of family medicine and primary care Vol. 12; no. 12; pp. 3374 - 3379
• Main Authors: Almashali, Mohammed A, Alotaibi, Manar A, Alkhanani, Alanoud H, Al Dera, Norah M, Alwadany, Muhannad M, Almousa, Abdulelah S, Shadid, Asem M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd 01.12.2023; Wolters Kluwer - Medknow; Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
• Subjects: Alopecia; androgenetic alopecia; Baldness; Evidence-based medicine; Health aspects; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Original; Psychological aspects; psychosocial; saudi arabia; Social aspects; Stress (Psychology); Stress management; Surveys; Saudi Arabia; Saudi Arabia; psychosocial; Androgenetic alopecia
• ISSN: 2249-4863; 2278-7135
• DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1151_23

The most prevalent cause of hair loss is androgenetic alopecia. Improved therapeutic modalities may result from knowing how stress affects hair growth, incorporating stress-coping methods into the treatment of hair loss disorders, and developing new pharmacotherapeutic approaches. This study aimed to examine the psychosocial burden of androgenetic alopecia in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional online survey study was conducted among patients with androgenetic alopecia in Saudi Arabia in February 2023. A previously developed questionnaire was adapted from a previously published tool and used in this study. This association between patients' characteristics and the level of psychosocial disease was identified using binary logistic regression analysis. This study included 1230 patients. The majority of the patients (78.0%) reported that they felt embarrassed by their androgenetic alopecia. The median score of the psychosocial impact of androgenetic alopecia on the patients was 1.00 (0.00-2.00), which is equal to 10.0%, reflecting a low level of psychosocial burden on the patients by their condition. Binary logistic regression analysis identified that patients without a family history of androgenetic alopecia were 36.0% less likely to be affected psychosocially by their condition ( < 0.01). A low-level psychosocial effect was seen in our study among individuals with androgenetic alopecia. Further research should be done to determine how the type of alopecia affects patients' psychological results, as well as the influence of the disease's duration on those outcomes. Dermatologists are recommended to raise patients' knowledge of their disease and lessen stigmatization in the meantime.