Clinical characteristics and prognostic factors in early-onset alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis

Alopecia totalis (AT) and alopecia universalis (AU), severe forms of alopecia areata (AA), show distinguishable clinical characteristics from those of patch AA. In this study, we investigated the clinical characteristics of AT/AU according to the onset age. Based on the onset age around adolescence (< or ≥ 13 yr), 108 patients were classified in an early-onset group and the other 179 patients in a late-onset group. We found that more patients in the early-onset group had a family history of AA, nail dystrophy, and history of atopic dermatitis than those in the late-onset group. These clinical differences were more prominent in patients with AU than in those with AT. In addition, significantly more patients with concomitant medical disorders, especially allergic diseases were found in the early-onset group (45.8%) than in the late-onset group (31.2%). All treatment modalities failed to show any association with the present hair condition of patients. In the early-onset group, patients with AU or a family history of AA showed worse prognosis, whereas this trend was not observed in the late-onset group. Systemic evaluations might be needed in early-onset patients due to the higher incidence of comorbid diseases. It is suggested that patients with AU or family history of AA make worse progress in the early-onset group than in the late-onset group.