Outcome Measure Instruments for the Assessment and Treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia: A Scoping Review

June 2026 in “ Clinical and Experimental Dermatology ”

Emadodin Darchini-Maragheh, Gia Toan Tang, Rodney Sinclair

androgenetic alopecia Hamilton-Norwood scale Ludwig scale Men Hair Growth Questionnaire clinician-reported outcome measure instruments patient-reported outcome measure instruments AGA male-pattern hair loss female-pattern hair loss

TLDR Standardized assessment tools for androgenetic alopecia are needed.

This scoping review examined outcome measure instruments (OMIs) used in assessing and treating androgenetic alopecia (AGA) across 317 studies involving 194,158 individuals. It identified 12 clinician-reported OMIs, with the Hamilton-Norwood and Ludwig scales being the most used in clinical trials for male and female-pattern hair loss, respectively. The Men Hair Growth Questionnaire (MHGQ) was the most frequently used patient-reported severity assessment instrument, while the Women’s Androgenetic Alopecia Quality of Life (WAA-QoL) and Hairdex were the only identified health-related quality of life instruments. The study highlights the inconsistent application of condition-specific OMIs in AGA trials and emphasizes the need for standardized assessment and psychometric evaluation of existing instruments.

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