A clinical and psychological study for alopecia areata in children

Abstract

Background: Clinical features of alopecia areata in children are diverse and unpredictable. Epidemiology of alopecia areata in adults is relatively well documented, but not in children. Objective: We performed a clinical and psychological study for alopecia areata in children in order to evaluate the clinical characteristics and psychosomatic dynamics. Methods: A clinical and psychological study of 161 patients(alopecia areata(AA) type 134 patients, alopecia totalis(AT) type 15 patients, alopecia universalis(AU) type 12 patients) were performed with alopecia under 15 years old from April 1995 to December 2000 at the Alopecia Clinic, Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Chung Ang University. Results: Average age of alopecia areata in children was 7.8 years, and 55.9% were primary school students. The most common type was AA(83.2%). Previous episodes of alopecia areata were observed in 11.8%, and family history of alopecia areata was observed in 6.8%(110/161). The most common associated disease was atopic dermatitis(45.3%). The eldest sibling or the children with deficient parent-child relationship were a more vulnerable group. On the neuropsychiatric consult, problematic cases were observed in 68.3%(110/161), and neurotic children was the most common problem among them 42.7%(47/110). Efficacy of treatment in the group treated with an intralesional injection of triamcinolone acetonide revealed no significant differences from the group treated with DPCP. Conclusions: From the above results it is concluded that alopecia areata in children was predominantly developed in primary school students. Atopic dermatitis is the most common associated disease. The relationship between parents and children is an important factor in the development of the disease or may contribute as an aggravating factor.