Association of trichoscopic findings in androgenetic alopecias with severity

Purpose: Androgenetic alopecia is the most common type of alopecia that occurs with genetic predisposition and impairs quality of life in affected individuals. It is important to determine the clinical significance of trichoscopic findings in androgenetic alopecia. There are studies examining the relationship between trichoscopic findings and disease severity in androgenetic alopecia, but the relationship of the localizations of the findings with severity and predictability of prognosis have not been investigated before. Materials and methods: Ages, disease durations, Fitzpatrick skin types and Hamilton–Norwood stages were recorded from 97 male androgenetic alopecia patients. Trichoscopic findings that are commonly seen in androgenetic alopecia were recorded with regions they were detected on the scalp. The relationship between trichoscopic findings and disease severity was analysed in two seperate ways: Based on the localization and independently of the localization. Results: The main findings in our study are as follows: (1) Honeycomb pigmentation pattern and focal atrichia detected in any region of the scalp are associated with severe disease. (2) Hair shaft thickness heterogenity, brown peripilar sign, and honeycomb pigmentation pattern detected on vertex are associated with severe disease. (3) Focal atrichia detected in any region and hair shaft thickness heterogenity detected on vertex can predict the prognosis of the disease. Conclusion: Trichoscopy provides information on diagnosis and severity of androgenetic alopecia. Trichoscopic examination of the vertex may be more important than other regions in terms of the information it provides about disease severity and prognosis. To support our findings, longitudinal studies are needed to examine the relationship between trichoscopic findings and prognosis in androgenetic alopecia Key Words: Androgenetic, alopecia, trichoscopy, severity