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Patients with alopecia areata had decreased risk for stroke
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Patients with alopecia areata had a decreased risk for stroke, and a trend toward decreased risk for myocardial infarction, although not statistically significant, according to recently published study results.
Researchers conducted a propensity-matched retrospective analysis of patients in the Partners Healthcare Research Patient Data Repository between Jan. 1, 2000 and Jan. 1, 2010, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Patients with alopecia areata (AA) were selected through comprehensive search of the repository for ICD-9 code 704.01.
Matched controls were selected though propensity score matching based on age, race, gender, smoking status, and a history of hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia.
There were 1,377 patients with AA (mean age, 45 years; 62.5% female) and 4,131 control patients (mean age, 44.4 years; 60.7% female).
There was a decreased risk for stroke in the patients with AA (OR = 0.39; 95% Ci, 0.18-0.87). The patients with AA had a trend toward decreased risk for myocardial infarction (OR = 0.91; 95% CI, 0.59-1.39), although it was not significant.
“The findings suggest that AA is protective for developing stroke and may decrease the risk for [myocardial infarction],” the researchers wrote. “It is unclear why AA would be protective for developing stroke. Recent studies have found some improvement of AA with simvastatin/ezetimibe. Statins have been shown to have some effect on immune response as it has recently been shown to decrease vaccine effectiveness against medically attended acute respiratory illness.”
“Although the risk for myocardial infarction was decreased, it was not statistically significant,” the researchers concluded. “Further studies are needed to confirm these findings in other AA cohorts and to elucidate a potential mechanism.” – by Bruce Thiel
Disclosure: Huang reports no relative financial disclosure. Please see the study for other researchers’ relative financial disclosures.
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