Korean J Dermatol.
2018 Jan;56(1):30-35.
Comorbid Autoimmune Diseases among Patients with Alopecia Areata: A Population-based Case-control Study in Korea
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Dermatology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. tuentuen@hanyang.ac.kr
Abstract
- BACKGROUND
There have been few studies on the association between alopecia areata (AA) and its comorbidities.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the association and incidence of autoimmune diseases related to alopecia areata in Koreans using National health insurance service database.
METHODS
This study was a retrospective case-control study based on the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort database of patients with AA and age- and sex-matched control subjects from 2003 to 2013.
RESULTS
Among 12,199 patients with AA and 60,995 control subjects, patients with AA were at significantly increased risk for Graves' disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, vitiligo, psoriasis, lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis compared to control subjects.
CONCLUSION
The risk of various autoimmune diseases was significantly increased in patients with AA.
