A Report from the Journal of Investigative Dermatology
For some women, living with alopecia areata can feel like living under a microscope. Women often describe feeling as though other people are always staring, judging and critiquing their hair or wigs. For them, life can become a cycle of stirred up emotions that may also conflict with each other. While women with alopecia can at times feel shame and even freakishness, they can also feel guilt about having those feelings because, after all, they’re thankful it’s only their hair growth that’s abnormal.
What other people think can have a big impact on how women with alopecia view themselves and how they go about their lives. At one end of the spectrum are those who participate fully in every activity imaginable —dealing with being different is no big deal to them. At the other end are women who selectively pull back, effectively living a life that’s “short-circuited.” For them, what other people think is a daily challenge.
How women feel about themselves, combined with what they perceive that others think (real or imagined) affects their quality of life.
A research article entitled “Quality of Life in Alopecia Areata: A Study of 60 Cases” is about a French study on this topic. It was conducted at the Department of Dermatology, Sainte-Marguerite Hospital, Marseille, France and published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2010)*. The main findings were that the components of quality of life that were most affected were those related to social functioning, emotional role function, and mental health.
Here’s one finding that especially caught our attention:
“Because the perception of patients may differ significantly from those of their health-care providers, quality of life (Qol) appears to be a more relevant criterion to assess the severity of this disease than clinical evaluation…”
And another:
“…Compared with the general population and with patients suffering from other dermatological conditions AA patients presented significantly altered Qol …”
We hope you to take a look at the article and see what you think.
We also encourage you to tell us what you think by emailing your comments to info@baldgirlsdolunch.org And if you have ideas or input about other articles you’d like to see featured in our newsletter, Virtual Lunch, please let us know! Thank you.
*Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2010) 130, 2830–2833; doi:10.1038/jid.2010.232
