Evaluation of vitamin D in pediatric alopecia areata: A case–control study of thirty patients in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Alopecia areata is a common form of autoimmune, non-scarring alopecia and about one-third of cases affect people aged below 18 years. Alopecia in pediatric age group can cause psychological stress to parents and patients. Vitamin D plays a role in immune regulation and maintenance of hair cycle. Aims and Objectives: To evaluate serum vitamin D levels in pediatric alopecia areata cases. Methods: A comparative case-control study with 30 cases of pediatric alopecia areata and 30 age and sex matched healthy controls was conducted between Feb 2015 to July 2015. All subjects underwent complete evaluation and laboratory investigations including serum vitamin D was done. Results: Mean serum vitamin D level of pediatric alopecia areata cases (17.21±6.57 ng/ml) was significantly lower when compared to controls (25.03±13.84 ng/ml) (P < 0.05). Distribution of vitamin D deficiency was significantly higher in cases (73%) when compared to controls (46%) (P < 0.05). There was a significant inverse correlation between SALT scores of cases and their serum vitamin D levels (P < 0.05). Conclusions: There was decreased vitamin D levels observed in cases suggesting a possible role of vitamin D in alopecia areata and treating the deficiency may prevent the chronicity of the disease in children