Measuring Patient Quality of Life Following Treatment for Alopecia

• Main Authors: Thadanipon K, Suchonwanit P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2021-07-01
• Series: Patient Preference and Adherence
• Subjects: hair loss; health-related quality of life; questionnaire; instrument; disease-specific; patient-reported outcome
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/measuring-patient-quality-of-life-following-treatment-for-alopecia-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-PPA

Kunlawat Thadanipon,1,2 Poonkiat Suchonwanit1 1Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; 2Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, ThailandCorrespondence: Poonkiat SuchonwanitDivision of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, 270 Rama VI Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok, ThailandTel [phone]Fax [phone] Ext 4Email [e-mail]: Alopecia is a challenging problem for both physicians and patients in terms of diagnosis and treatment. Alopecia usually has negative effects on patients’ emotional and psychological well-being. Several studies have examined the effect of alopecia on patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and have consistently reported poor scores. However, deeper insight into the impact of alopecia on affected individuals and its measurement using HRQoL questionnaires is lacking in the literature. In this article, the methods for measuring the HRQoL of patients with alopecia were comprehensively reviewed. Their applications and limitations were also discussed.Keywords: hair loss, health-related quality of life, questionnaire, instrument, disease-specific, patient-reported outcome