Background and Aim: Alopecia is one of the most common chronic skin diseases and is one of the most important predictors of psychological distress and depression. Considering the importance of this issue to public health, this study evaluated the impact of alopecia on increasing depression in the affected population
Methods: A meta-analysis was performed for relevant articles in scientific databases including SID, Science direct and PubMed (Medline). Reference lists of identified articles were reviewed for additional articles. Heterogeneity of study was checked using I2 index. Data were analyzed using the Comprehensive Meta-analysis (CMA) software.
Results: The overall prevalence of depression in patients with alopecia in Iran was %60.3 (%95 Cl %51.4-%68.5) during 2001-2015. The highest prevalence of depression was recorded in Khorramabad in 2007, %66.7 (%95 Cl: %56.3-%75.6) and the lowest prevalence of depression was found in Mashhad in 2010, %47.3 (%95 Cl: %41.7-%53).
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the prevalence of depression in patients with alopecia is high and therefore appropriate therapies and the need for psychological counseling for these patients seems to be necessary.Rights and permissions | |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |