Assessment of hypothyroidism in diffuse nonscarring alopecia

Background Alopecia, clinically as well as etiologically, is a heterogeneous group. Several hormonal etiologies may cause alopecia including hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism etc. Thyroid diseases show a wide range of clinical signs in skin, hair and nails. Several reports document a significant correlation between thyroid diseases especially hypothyroidism with alopecia. Thyroid function test is one of the useful indices to assess the cause of alopecia. Objective The aim of our study was to evaluate the frequency of alopecia in hypothyroid cases by performing the thyroid function tests (T3, T4, TSH). Patients and methods Twenty diagnosed patients of hypothyroidism were assessed for alopecia (according to the Hamilton and Norwood grading scale) and thyroid function tests. 20 healthy controls were recruited for comparison. Results Out of 20 hypothyroid patients, 10 (50%) showed alopecia of variable grades. On laboratory investigations, significantly decreased levels of T3 and increased levels of TSH were noticed. Conclusions Alopecia is quite frequent in hypothyroid patients. Similarly, thyroid profile is one of the useful diagnostic index for screening patients with alopecia.