Illness perception in patients with androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata in China.
The aim of the present study was to provide more information on the role of illness perception in patients with androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and those with alopecia areata (AA), and to further investigate the relationship of illness perception with psychological disorders and dermatological QoL.



The study included 342 patients who were diagnosed with AGA (n=212) or AA (n=130) for the first time at our institution between October 2013 and December 2014. All patients were surveyed before clinical examination by several questionnaires including the Brief Illness Perception, Self-rating Depression Scale, Self-rating Anxiety Scale, and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI).



In the AGA patients, the illness perception and QoL were low, whereas the prevalence of clinical depression and anxiety was higher compared to the AA patients. Illness perception was associated with psychological distress and low QoL in both groups, and some illness perception dimensions were found to be significant predictors of the DLQI scores.



Illness perception plays an important role in AGA and AA patients, and is associated with psychological distress and low QoL. The identification of critical components of illness perception in alopecia patients could help to understand alopecia specificities, to design consultations and interventions according to the perception, and to improve physical and mental outcomes as well as QoL in alopecia patients.
Department of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Nan-Lan
NL
Yu
Department of Dermatology, The Affiliated Hospital of Three Gorges Medical College, Chongqing, China.
Huan
H
Tan
Department of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Zhi-Qiang
ZQ
Song
Department of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China. Electronic address: doctoryxc@msn.com.
Xi-Chuan
XC
Yang
D000328:Adult; D000505:Alopecia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D000506:Alopecia Areata / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D055809:Illness Behavior; D008297:Male; D010808:Physical Examination; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
Alopecia areata; Androgenetic alopecia; DLQI; Disorders; Illness perception; Psychological