|
Table
of references on alopecia areata prevalence in families
It has long been suspected that genes play a role in development
of alopecia areata. To support this claim, many dermatologists
point to statistics that show alopecia areata occurs much more
frequently in genetically related individuals. This suggests
certain
genes passed from generation to generation in a family can make
offspring more susceptible towards developing alopecia areata.
Below is a list of medical journal reports that suggest how
frequently someone with alopecia areata can claim a family
history of the
condition. The source of the data is also given as it may be
that family prevalence changes with different regions of the
world.
| PERCENTAGE WITH FAMILY HISTORY
| GEOGRAPHIC POSITION
| CITATION
|
| 3%
| UK
| Barber 1921
|
| 11%
| UK
| Price 1928
|
| 20%
| UK
| Brown 1929
|
| 20%
| France
| Sabouraud 1929
|
| 19%
| UK
| Anderson 1950
|
| Not significant
| Spain
| Saenz 1963
|
| 10%
| USA
| Muller 1963
|
| 3.4%
| Italy
| Olivetti 1965
|
| 6.3%
| Portugal
| Bastos 1967
|
| 25%
| UK
| Cunliffe 1969
|
| 17%
| Sweden
| Gip 1969
|
| 27%
| USA
| Sauder 1980
|
| 24%
| UK
| Friedman 1981b
|
| 11%
| Belgium
| De Weert 1984
|
| 6.6%
| Germany
| Lutz 1988
|
| 18%
| Netherlands
| De Waard van der Spek 1989
|
| 11.4%
| Germany
| Gollinck 1992
|
| 16%
| Germany
| Van der Steen 1992
|
| 42%
| USA
| Shellow 1992
|
| 11.5%
| Korea
| Ro 1995
|
| 12.4% children age 16 or less
| India
| Sharma 1996
|
Table
of references on stress as a factor for people with alopecia areata
Some, but by no means all, dermatologists claim that alopecia
areata can be influenced, or even induced, by stress. It is not
hard to see why when there are so many medical reports which seem
to support this claim. However, there is a significant problem with
almost all the studies below in that they do not compare stress
levels in people with alopecia areata to the general population
or a control group. Finally, one must also bear in mind the question
- which comes first, stress which induces alopecia areata or alopecia
areata which induces stress? Note: Many of the studies report just
a few cases and do not provide statistical information.
| PERCENTAGE WITH STRESS
| CITATION
|
| 69% in children
| Brown 1929
|
| *
| Peck 1948
|
| *
| Kaplan 1952
|
| *
| Ledo-Dunipe 1952
|
| 90%
| Panconesi 1955
|
| *
| Mantellass 1956
|
| *
| Obermayer 1956
|
| Not significant
| MacAlpine 1958
|
| *
| Reinhold 1960
|
| *
| Swift 1961
|
| *
| De Gossely 1965
|
| 22%
| Gip 1969
|
| *
| Feldman 1973
|
| *
| Ferraro 1979
|
| 70%
| De Weert 1984
|
| *
| Perini 1984
|
| 29%
| De Waard van der Spek 1989
|
| 74%
| Colon 1991
|
| 6.7% Not significant
| Van der Steen 1992
|
| *
| Koo 1994
|
| *
| Attah-Johnson 1995
|
| *
| Koblenzer 1995
|
Table
of references for the male to female ratio of people affected
with
alopecia areata
Alopecia areata is suspected by many dermatologists be an autoimmune
disease. In most other forms of autoimmune disease many more women
than men are affected. For example, with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus,
10 women are affected for every one man (Ollier 1992). We might
expect a similar bias for alopecia areata but not all research groups
can demonstrate one.
| FEMALE:MALE RATIO
| GEOGRAPHIC POSITION
| CITATION
|
| 1:1
| UK
| Freshwater 1915
|
| 1:1.6
| UK
| Barber 1921
|
| 2:1
| France
| Sabouraud 1929
|
| 1:1.3
| UK
| Orr 1924
|
| 1:3
| USA
| Price 1928
|
| 1.4:1
| UK
| Brown 1929
|
| 1:1
| USA
| Walker 1950
|
| 1:1
| USA
| Muller 1963
|
| 1:3
| Portugal
| Bastos 1967
|
| 2:1
| Belgium
| De Weert 1984
|
| 2:1
| UK
| Friedman 1985
|
| 2:1
| Germany
| Gollinck 1992
|
| 1:1
| USA
| Safavi 1995
|
| 1:1.3
| Korea
| Ro 1995
|
| 1.4:1 children age 16 or less
| India
| Sharma 1996
|
Table
of references for age bias in the first expression of alopecia areata
The first onset of alopecia areata can occur in any decade of
life but it is generally regarded as most likely to first develop
in younger individuals. However, looking at the statistical reports
on the subject there seems to be a steady increase through time
of alopecia areata first developing later in life. Is the change
simply a result of different data collection methods or something
more significant?
| PERCENTAGE FIRST EXPRESSION
| GEOGRAPHIC POSITION
| CITATION
|
| 72% age 20 or less
| UK
| Freshwater 1915
|
| 56% age 20 or less
| UK
| Barber 1921
|
| 53% age 20 or less
| UK
| Orr 1924
|
| 57% age 20 or less
| UK
| Brown 1929
|
| 44% age 20 or less
| UK
| Anderson 1950
|
| 35% age 20 or less
| Spain
| Lopez 1951
|
| 27% age 20 or less
| USA
| Muller 1963
|
| 32.5% age 20 or less
| Portugal
| Bastos 1967
|
| 35% age 20 or less
| Sweden
| Gip 1969
|
| 30% age 20 or less
| USA
| Safavi 1995
|
| 23.9% age 16 or less
| India
| Sharma 1996
|
|
