Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics of Alopecia Areata in a Tertiary Care Center in Western Odisha

The study conducted at a tertiary care center in Western Odisha aimed to identify the epidemiological factors, clinical patterns, and comorbidities associated with alopecia areata. This cross-sectional study, carried out from March 2017 to March 2020, included clinically diagnosed cases of alopecia areata. Researchers collected data on age, gender, locality, educational status, and occupation, and noted various clinical patterns, including patchy hair loss and severe variants like alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis. The findings were gathered using a pre-structured questionnaire, clinical examinations, and laboratory data, highlighting the common association of alopecia areata with personal or family history of atopy and other autoimmune diseases.