Study of anxiety in patients with moderate alopecia

Background: Alopecia is known to have an impact on psychosocial health of an individual. Besides depression, anxiety is commonly associated with it and can add significantly to the burden due to it. The present study was carried out in the patients attending dermatology outpatient department, which looked into anxiety symptoms and its correlations with various demographic and clinical factors. Materials and Methods: Thirty consecutive patients diagnosed with moderate alopecia not requiring any major intervention participated in the study. Each patient was individually interviewed using a semi-structured pro forma which included sociodemographic profile, clinical and psychiatric profile, and dermatological diagnosis, and rating scales of Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) were administered. Results and Discussion: Mean age was 30.86 years (standard deviation 11.89), 50% males and majority married with urban background. Many had complaints of uneasiness, excessive worries, and disturbed sleep. The mental status examination in the majority of them revealed anxious mood and preoccupation with worries. None of them satisfied the diagnostic criteria for any anxiety disorder as per Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5. The mean BPRS score was 22.80 with the participants scored significantly on anxiety, tension, and somatic concern and the mean HAM-A score was 10.30 with the majority of participant had score in the range of significant anxiety. Their correlation with factors of gender, marital status, duration, and pattern of alopecia was found to be not significant. Conclusion: Although no diagnosable anxiety disorder was present in patients of moderate alopecia, majority of them had significant anxiety found during the assessment.