Epidemiological profile of alopecia areata — own experience

Introduction: Alopecia areata (AA) is a complex autoimmune condition that causes non-scarring hair loss. Incidence is estimated at 0.1-0.2% of the general population. The aim of this study is a retrospective analysis of the population of patients with alopecia areata in the years 2015–2019.  Material and methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted through the analysis of clinical documentation data between 2015 and 2019. The study involved all the patients diagnosed with ICD10 L63 code for primary diagnosis of alopecia areata hospitalized in the Department of Dermatology, Paediatric Dermatology and the Oncology Medical University of Lodz.  Results: In the years 2015–2019 223 hospitalizations due to AA were reported. The number of female patients significantly dominated in both adult and paediatric populations: 73 girls, 38 boys, 86 women, 26 men. The results show that most of the patients lived in a city, the mean age was 7.5 (95CL = 6.5–8.6) years among children and 40 (95CL= 36.8–42.9) among adults. The most common medical diagnosis of alopecia areata based on ICD10 is Unspecified Alopecia areata — 131 cases, then other forms of AA — 34 cases, alopecia universalis 13 cases, ophiasis 4 cases.  Conclusions: Current results indicate that the predisposition for AA mainly concerns women after the fourth decade of life. The prevalence of hospitalization on the female side also works in the population of children with the average age spanning across 6–10 years of age. An increase in hospitalization due to AA after 2015 was observed. Most diagnoses relate to the non-specific form of alopecia areata.