Korean J Dermatol.  2018 Jan;56(1):36-41.

Hair Mineral Analysis in Women with Telogen Effluvium

• Choi MS
• Hong SP
• Kim MH
• Park BC

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Imbalances in trace elements have been associated with many forms of alopecia and other hair problems. Telogen effluvium (TE) is a type of hair loss showing nonpatterned shedding of terminal hair. TE might be the result of various changes in body condition such as labor, weight loss, surgery, or stress. These conditions could induce the deficiency or excess of trace elements in tissue such as hair.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to find differences in trace elements between a female TE group and a normal group using a hair mineral analysis (HMA) method.
METHODS
Medical records including hair mineral analysis results of 80 women with TE and 35 healthy normal women were retrospectively reviewed.
RESULTS
Bismuth (Bi), iron (Fe), titanium (Ti), and zinc (Zn) levels in the TE group were significantly decreased compared to those in the normal group. The median value of Zn in the TE patients' group was 50.98 μg/g, and that of the normal group was 76.19 μg/g (p < 0.01). Fe was also significantly decreased in TE patients (50.98 μg/g) compared to the normal group (74.04 μg/g). The level of Zn and Fe in TE patients was significantly lower compared to that in the normal group based on hair mineral analysis results (p < 0.01). There was a weak tendency that cobalt (Co), barium (Ba), mercury (Hg), lithum (Li), and tin (Sn) were lower and selenium (Se) was higher in the TE group than in the normal group (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, lower levels of Zn and Fe might be related to the hair loss process in women with TE.

Keyword

Telogen effluvium; Hair mineral analysis; Zinc; Iron

MeSH Terms

Alopecia
Barium
Bismuth
Cobalt
Female
Hair*
Humans
Iron
Medical Records
Methods
Miners*
Retrospective Studies
Selenium
Tin
Titanium
Trace Elements
Weight Loss
Zinc
Barium
Bismuth
Cobalt
Iron
Selenium
Tin
Titanium
Trace Elements
Zinc