title: Cardiovascular risk in patients with alopecia areata (AA): A propensity-matched retrospective analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The cardiovascular risk of patients with alopecia areata (AA) is not well characterized, with limited studies evaluating the risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and ischemic stroke.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We sought to determine the risk for patients with AA to develop subsequent stroke and AMI.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted propensity-matched retrospective analysis between January 1, 2000, and January 1, 2010, from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. A comprehensive research patient data repository search was done for International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision code 704.01 and cases were verified using a natural language processing program. Propensity score matching was used to identify controls for AA cases based on age, race, gender, smoking status, and history of hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 1377 cases of AA matched with 4131 controls. Patients with AA had decreased odds for developing stroke (odds ratio 0.39, 95% CI 0.18-0.87) and a trend toward decreased risk of AMI (odds ratio 0.91, 95% CI 0.59-1.39).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This was a retrospective study using a clinical database.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with AA had decreased risk for stroke and AMI, although not statistically significant. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings in other AA cohorts and to elucidate a potential mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Kathie P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana.
authors.forename: Cara J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Joyce
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Maxim
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Topaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address: amostaghimi@bwh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mostaghimi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000506:Alopecia Areata / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001900:Boston / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D057216:Propensity Score; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology
keywords: alopecia; alopecia areata; cardiovascular risk; metabolic risk; myocardial infarction; stroke