ibs.GRANADA researchers show that suffering from alopecia areata is associated with a type of personality
The study, published in the prestigious Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, potentially associates for the first time alopecia areta with a personality type characterized by increased anxiety and depression and poor quality of life.
The "Clinical and Translational Dermatology" research group of the Biosanitary Research Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA), has carried out a study that analyzes for the first time personality traits with alopecia areata, finding an association that implies an affectation in the quality of of life of the patients.
Alopecia Areata (AA) is hair loss in a localized or diffuse area of the scalp and other locations, due to the fact that the immune system does not recognize the hair follicles as its own. The origin of this disease is unknown in detail, but it seems to be influenced by both genes and environmental factors. Anguished personality or type D personality (TDp) is defined by the combination of social inhibition and negative affectivity, associated with a poor quality of life and has been studied by the same research group in other skin diseases, such as psoriasis or chronic hives. To date, the potential association of AA and TDp had not been analyzed, so the objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of TDp between patients with AA and healthy people, as well as to analyze the impact of TDp in patients with AA in terms of changes in mood, quality of life and sexuality.
The main results of this study led by Salvador Arias, researcher in charge of the "Clinical and Translational Dermatology" group at ibsGRANADA and full professor at the University of Granada, reveal a higher prevalence of PDD in patients with AA than in healthy people, as well as a higher rate of anxiety, depression and poorer quality of life. On the other hand, it has been observed that AA produces a more accentuated deterioration of sexual life in women.
This research carried out in the trichology unit of the Dermatology service of the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital highlights the need for a holistic and comprehensive approach to this pathology, in which an early diagnosis is important to carry out an adequate treatment of alopecia. and associated comorbidities such as anxiety and depression.
About the research group
The ibs.GRANADA “Clinical and Translational Dermatology” research group, whose lead investigator is Dr. Salvador Arias Santiago, is made up of clinical and basic researchers oriented towards a better understanding of inflammatory and oncological skin diseases and the clinical translation of some therapeutic advances in the field of advanced therapies.
More information about the group at https://www.ibsgranada.es/grupos-de-investigacion/tece19-dermatologia-clinica-y-traslacional/
