Scalp hair regrowth is associated with improvements in health-related quality of life and psychological symptoms in patients with severe alopecia areata: results from two randomized controlled trials

Introduction This post hoc analysis assessed association between scalp hair regrowth and improvements in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and psychological burden in patients with severe alopecia areata (AA). Methods Data were pooled from two phase-3 trials (N = 1200). Patients randomized to once-daily placebo, baricitinib 2-mg, or 4-mg were analyzed independently of treatment allocation, and categorized according to scalp hair regrowth (at Week 36): meaningful regrowth (Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score & LE;20); intermediate regrowth (& GE;30% SALT improvement [SALT(30)] at any post-baseline visit to Week 36, but SALT score > 20 at Week 36); no/minimal regrowth (never achieved SALT(30)). Skindex-16 for AA score change-from-baseline and proportion of patients with baseline Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scores & GE;8 that shifted to <8 (normal) were assessed. Results Patients with meaningful regrowth achieved greater improvements in all Skindex-16 AA domains versus no/minimal regrowth. More patients with meaningful versus no/minimal regrowth shifted from HADS & GE;8 to <8 (anxiety:46.8% versus 26.4%; depression:52.3% versus 24.0%). Improvements occurred with intermediate regrowth but to a lesser extent versus meaningful regrowth. Conclusions Patients with severe AA and scalp hair regrowth at Week 36 experienced greater improvements in HRQoL and anxiety and depression versus patients with no/minimal regrowth. The highest benefit was observed in patients with meaningful regrowth (SALT score & LE;20).ClinicalTrials.gov listing: NCT03570749 and NCT03899259

Automated summary

This study analyzed the association between scalp hair regrowth and improvements in health-related quality of life and psychological burden in patients with severe alopecia areata. The results showed that patients with meaningful hair regrowth experienced greater improvements in overall well-being and reduced anxiety and depression.