Alopecia Areata: the Role of Stressful Events and An Estimate of Lifetime Risk in First-Degree Relatives

Background:alopecia areata (aa) is a common disease in the military population; however, a few studies have calculated the lifetime risk of alopecia areata in firstdegree relatives of patients as well as the impact of stress.objectives:the primary aim of this study was to calculate the lifetime risk of alopecia areata in firstdegree relatives of index patients. the secondary aim of this study was to assess the role of stressful events in the onset/recurrence of disease.patients and methods:one hundred and twentyone patients with alopecia areata and their firstdegree relatives, which included 597 subjects in addition to 119 controls, were studied. we considered a gender and agematched control for each patient. they were investigated for the occurrence of stressful events within the previous six months before the onset/recurrence of the disease.results:more than twentysix percent of patients had a positive family history, while 6.4 percent of firstdegree relatives were affected by alopecia areata. lifetime risks were estimated at 7.6% for parents, 9.9% for siblings, and 6.4% for children. eightyeight patients (73.9%) experienced stressful events within six months prior to the onset or recurrences of alopecia areata, while 32 subjects (26.9%) of the control group reported such events in the last six months (p value = 0.000).conclusions:calculated lifetime risks can be used in genetic counseling. it appears that stressful events can be considered to be contributing factors in the development of alopecia areata. also, according to our results, the role of stress in the recurrence of alopecia areata is more prominent than the primary development of the disease.