Saurabh Swaroop Gupta; Aneet Mahendra; Sanjeev Gupta; Rohit Singla
Abstract
Background and Aim: Alopecia areata (AA) is a chronic, autoimmune disease that causes non-scarring hair loss. Recently, serum vitamin D has been implicated in the etiopathogenesis of AA due to its immunoregulatory effects. Its deficiency can cause a loss of selftolerance and predispose individuals to ...
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Background and Aim: Alopecia areata (AA) is a chronic, autoimmune disease that causes non-scarring hair loss. Recently, serum vitamin D has been implicated in the etiopathogenesis of AA due to its immunoregulatory effects. Its deficiency can cause a loss of selftolerance and predispose individuals to autoimmune diseases. This study compared the serum vitamin D levels between AA cases and controls. We aimed to compare the serum levels of vitamin D between AA patients and age and sex-matched healthy controls and to elucidate any correlation between AA and vitamin D serum levels in terms of disease pattern, severity, and extent.Methods: A case group comprising 25 AA patients and a second group of 25 healthy controls of 10 years of age or older were involved in the study. A detailed history was taken, along with a complete clinical examination. Serum vitamin D levels were measured and compared between the groups.Results: The mean level of vitamin D in cases (17.15 ± 5.01 ng/ ml) was significantly lower as compared to controls (34.58 ± 20.83 ng/ml) (P < 0.001). The duration, pattern, and severity of AA had no significant relationship with patients’ serum vitamin D levels.Conclusion: We demonstrated a statistically significant variation in serum vitamin D between controls and cases, with lower values in patients. Our findings indicate a possible cause-and-effect relationship between low serum vitamin D and AA, which needs further exploration.
