The prevalence of alopecia areata (AA) increased in the United States from 2016 to 2019, with higher prevalence seen among females versus males, according to a study published online March 1 in JAMA Dermatology.

Arash Mostaghimi, M.D., M.P.H., from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted a retrospective, population-based cohort study to examine incidence and prevalence rates of AA or alopecia totalis (AT) and/or alopecia universalis (AU) using data obtained from January 2016 to December 2019.

The researchers found that the prevalence of AA increased from 0.199 percent in 2016 to 0.222 percent in 2019. About 5 to 10 percent of prevalent and incident AA cases were AT/AU. From 2016 to 2019, the prevalence of AT/AU increased from 0.012 to 0.019 percent. Per 100,000 person-years, the incidence of AA varied from 87.39 in 2017 to 92.90 in 2019; AT/AU incidence ranged from 7.09 in 2017 to 8.92 in 2016. Females versus males, adults versus children and adolescents, and those in the Northeast versus other regions had higher prevalence and incidence of AA and AT/AU.

"This study highlights contemporary trends in the annual prevalence and incidence of AA and AT/AU over time among a large, real-world U.S. population, which may help to inform future analyses of the burden of disease," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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