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Background: Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease that causes non-scarring hair loss. Significant epidemiological differences among the population observed throughout the investigation in the literature. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA ) was found to have a greater burden of disease than other countries, but the information is lacking in Al Baha region, the southwestern area of KSA . Aim: The aim of the present study was to determine the clinico-epidemiological profile and burden of AA in the Al Baha region and to subsequently highlight the factors affecting disease prevalence. Methodology: A well-structured quantitative questionnaire was developed and distributed using an online standardized questionnaire targeting 385 Albaha patients diagnosed with AA. The diagnosis of AA was confirmed clinically by consultant dermatology before patient recruitment into the study and resulted in sufficient accuracy. The responses were collected and analyzed using SPSS statistical analysis software. The frequency of disease prevalence, patients’ ages, disease duration, impact on quality of life, risk factors, and associated diseases were analyzed. Results: A total of 385 AA patients completed the questionnaire to achieve 100% response accuracy. Most of them were located in Al-Baha center (36.1%) followed by Baljurashi city (17.1%). The most frequent age of AA diagnosis was 21–30 years old (41.3%), and the disease duration was 3–6 months in the majority of the patients (26.8%). The most common type is patchy scalp AA in 57.1% of the patients followed by AA involving more than one site (24.4%). Diabetes mellitus and chronic anemia were the associated diseases 10.9% (for both) followed by thyroid diseases in 5.2% of the patients. Conclusion: Overall, AA as a disease presents a significant concern for the population of Al-Baha region in Saudi Arabia considering the variable prevalence in different cities, especially in Al-Baha center itself. Onset occurs during adult working ages. Therefore, quality of life can be negatively affected, and outcomes can be severe. This study potentially adds more knowledge and theoretical understanding of AA clinico-epidemiology in our region. Keywords: hair loss, Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia, Epidemiology |
