title: Low iron stores: a risk factor for excessive hair loss in non-menopausal women.
abstract: Iron deficiency has been suspected to represent one of the possible causes of excessive hair loss in women. The aim of our study was to assess this relationship in a very large population of 5110 women aged between 35 and 60 years. Hair loss was evaluated using a standardized questionnaire sent to all volunteers. The iron status was assessed by a serum ferritin assay carried out in each volunteer. Multivariate analysis allowed us to identify three categories: "absence of hair loss" (43%), "moderate hair loss" (48%) and "excessive hair loss" (9%). Among the women affected by excessive hair loss, a larger proportion of women (59%) had low iron stores (< 40 microg/L) compared to the remainder of the population (48%). Analysis of variance and logistic regression show that a low iron store represents a risk factor for hair loss in non-menopausal women.
authors.affiliation: L'Oréal Recherche, Clichy, France.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Deloche
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bastien
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chadoutaud
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Galan
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bertrais
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hercberg
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: de Lacharrière
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000505:Alopecia / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000150:complications*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D017697:Premenopause / Q000097:blood; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins; D005293:Ferritins