Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology (Oct 2021)

Dietary Habits in Japanese Patients with Alopecia Areata

  • Hagino T,
  • Okazaki S,
  • Serizawa N,
  • Suzuki K,
  • Kaga M,
  • Otsuka Y,
  • Mikami E,
  • Hoashi T,
  • Saeki H,
  • Matsuda H,
  • Mitsui H,
  • Kanda N

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 14
pp. 1579 – 1591

Abstract

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Teppei Hagino,1,2 Shizuka Okazaki,1 Naotaka Serizawa,1 Kaori Suzuki,1 Mio Kaga,2 Yohei Otsuka,2 Erina Mikami,2 Toshihiko Hoashi,2 Hidehisa Saeki,2 Hiroki Matsuda,3 Hiroshi Mitsui,3 Naoko Kanda1 1Department of Dermatology, Nippon Medical School Chiba Hokusoh Hospital, Inzai, Chiba, Japan; 2Department of Dermatology, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan; 3Department of Dermatology, Tokyo Teishin Hospital, Tokyo, JapanCorrespondence: Naoko KandaDepartment of Dermatology, Nippon Medical School Chiba Hokusoh Hospital, 1715 Kamagari, Inzai, Chiba, 270-1694 JapanTel +81 476 99 1111Fax +81 476 99 1909Email [email protected]: Alopecia areata (AA) is characterized by non-scarring, patchy hair loss caused by autoimmune reactions to anagen hair follicles. The pathogenesis of AA may be affected by the diet. However, the dietary habits of patients with AA have not been precisely examined. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the dietary habits of patients with AA in comparison to those of healthy controls.Patients and Methods: We evaluated the dietary habits of 70 adult Japanese patients with AA using a brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire and compared them to the habits of age- and sex-matched healthy controls.Results: Japanese patients with AA had a higher body mass index (BMI) and higher intakes of vitamin C and fruit than the controls. Logistic regression analysis showed that AA was associated with BMI. Retinol intake was positively correlated with severity of alopecia tool (SALT) score, and linear regression analysis revealed that retinol intake was a predictor of SALT score. Retinol intake among patients with moderate to severe AA (ie, a SALT score > 25) was higher than that in patients with mild AA (a SALT score ≤ 25). The mean age of AA patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) was lower than that of AA patients without AD; however, there were no differences in nutrient or food intake between these two groups. Logistic regression analysis showed that the comorbidity AD was negatively associated with age.Conclusion: AA was associated with a high BMI, and high retinol intake was a predictor of SALT score. Further studies should be conducted to clarify whether dietary intervention to reduce BMI or limit retinol intake can alter the development or severity of AA.Keywords: retinol, vitamin C, body mass index, atopic dermatitis

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