BACKGROUND
Alopecia areata (AA) and Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) are fairly common hair disorders. Hair loss causes a significant impact in person’s life which may lead to loss of self-confidence and distorted body image.
OBJECTIVE
To find the level of impairment in the quality of life in patients with AA and AGA and compare findings between sexes and diagnoses.
METHODS
All consenting patients with hair loss presenting to the clinic from September 2020 to August 2021 were enrolled in this observational study. Clinical evaluation for AA and severity grading as percentage of scalp involved was recorded. Similarly, alopecia severity grading in AGA was done using Norwood and Hamilton grading in males and Ludwig grading in females. All participants were asked to complete the Nepali Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire.
RESULTS
Out of 142 patients, there were 79 (55.6%) males and 63 (44.4%) females. There were 48 (33.8%) patients of AA while ninety-four (66.2%) had AGA. The mean total DLQI score was 8.16 (±6.126). Mean DLQI score of females was 9.16±5.858 which was significantly higher than that of males 7.37±6.258 (P<0.05). DLQI of the AGA patients (9.45±6.094) was significantly higher than that of AA patients (5.65±5.417) (P<0.001). All sub-domains of the DLQI in females were impaired more than in males. Increasing duration of the disease increased the impairment in quality of life significantly.
CONCLUSIONS
The quality of life in females was more affected as compared to males in both kinds of hair loss. However, patients with AGA had a greater impairment than patients with AA in our population. Hair loss specific questionnaires in local language would better measure the psychological impairment.