Treatment Preferences of Adults and Adolescents with Alopecia Areata: A Discrete Choice Experiment

The study "Treatment preferences of adults and adolescents with alopecia areata: A discrete choice experiment" involved 321 participants (201 adults and 120 adolescents) from the US and five European countries. The research found that both adults and adolescents with severe alopecia areata (AA) are willing to accept significant treatment-related risks, including serious infections, blood clots, and cancer, to increase the probability of hair regrowth. The most important attribute to both groups was a 50% probability of achieving scalp hair regrowth. For an increase in the probability of scalp hair regrowth from 0% to 20%, adults were willing to accept a mean 3-year risk of serious infection, cancer, and blood clots of 7.4%, 2.5%, and 9.3%, respectively. Adolescents were willing to accept a 3.3% increase in the risk of cancer for the same benefit. The study's findings provide important, quantitative preference information to guide the development of new treatments, inform clinical guidelines and regulatory decisions, and facilitate shared decision-making at the point of care.