Self-Reported Hair Loss Following COVID-19: An Observational Study

Abstract

Objective: COVID-19 has been significantly associated with both psychosocial stress and physiologic stress, both of which are known to trigger telogen effluvium. This study was performed to estimate the prevalence of hair loss among patients with COVID-19 and to determine the correlation of the severity of COVID-19 with the severity of hair loss. Methods: Data were collected through a self-administered electronic questionnaire that was distributed among social media platforms. Participants were invited to complete the survey using a convenience sampling technique. A multiple response dichotomies analysis and chi-square test of independence were used to analyze data. Results: Among 420 participants who reported a positive PCR result of SARS-CoV-2, 77.6% reported hair loss after COVID-19 development. Notably, the onset of hair loss was within 3 weeks of COVID-19 development in 29% of participants. Most of the participants reported that the duration of hair loss was up to 6 months, and hair regrowth was noticed within 1 year after COVID-19 development. Patients who were admitted to the hospital, who experienced respiratory difficulties, who had lost weight due to COVID-19, and who experienced symptoms for longer than 10 days were significantly more prone to experience severe hair loss following COVID-19 (P < 0.001). Conclusion: This study demonstrated a high frequency of self-reported hair loss after the development of COVID-19. Interestingly, even patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms were significantly more prone to experience moderate hair loss. Unique to COVID-19 infection, the onset of hair loss following the development of COVID-19 was within 3 weeks in one-third of the participants.