Clinical, demographic and laboratory features of children with alopecia areata

Abstract

Objective: Alopecia areata (AA) is an inflammatory skin disease with an unknown etiology and characterized by loss of hair without scar formation. In this study we aimed to investigate the clinical and demographic characteristics of pediatric patients with AA. Methods: Clinical data of 131 children patients with AA who admitted to Dermatology Department of Recep Tayyip Erdogan University Training and Research Hospital in July 2010-July 2013 period were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Age of patients were between 2-16 years. Seventy four of 131 patients (56.5%) were males and 57 (43.5%) were females and the mean age was 8.95±3.85 years. 28 of the patients (21.4%) had a history of atopy and were highly correlated with the severity of AA (p=0.00). The severity of AA was found to be associated with duration of the disease (p=0.02). A significant correlation was found between the severity of AA and nail involvement (p=0.00). Anemia was detected in 20.5% of the patients but this finding was not related to with severity of AA (p>0.05). Conclusion: In the child who admitted to our clinic with AA, the extensiveness of the lesions were less than 25%. The duration of AA, presence of atopy, and the nail involvement are associated with the severity of AA. There is no relationship between anemia and the severity of AA. © 2014 by Turkish Society of Dermatology.