Insulin resistance is increased in alopecia areata patients.
Increased insulin resistance (IR) has been found in androgenetic alopecia in several studies. However, IR has not been investigated in alopecia areata (AA). We aimed to investigate IR in AA patients and the controls. Anthropometric and demographic data were obtained from 51 AA patients and 36 controls. We measured insulin, c-peptide and blood glucose and HOMA-IR. Demographic characteristics of the two groups were similar. AA group had higher insulin [12.5 ± 7.01 vs. 8.3 ± 3.9 µIU/mL, p = 0.001], c-peptide [2.7 ± 1.07 vs. 2. ± 0.6 ng/mL, p = 0.007] and HOMA-IR levels [2.8 ± 1.6 vs. 1.9 ± 0.9, p = .004] than the controls. Patient and control groups were also similar regarding lipid profiles. In this study, we found increased IR in AA patients for the first time in literature. Increased inflammatory cytokines and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation may be responsible for this finding. Further studies with larger sample sizes may give additional information for IR in AA.
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey. drayserem@yahoo.com
Ayse Serap
AS
Karadag
Derun Taner
DT
Ertugrul
Serap Gunes
SG
Bilgili
Zennure
Z
Takci
Emre
E
Tutal
Hamiyet
H
Yilmaz
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000506:Alopecia Areata / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002096:C-Peptide / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000502:physiology; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
D001786:Blood Glucose; D002096:C-Peptide; D007328:Insulin; D008055:Lipids