Evaluation of quality of life scores and family impact scales in pediatric patients with alopecia areata: a cross‐sectional cohort study

Background There are a limited number of studies evaluating the effects of alopecia areata (AA) on the health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) of pediatric patients and their families. This study aimed to assess the HRQoL of pediatric patients with AA and their parents. Materials and methods This single‐center cross‐sectional cohort study included 72 pediatric patients diagnosed with AA. The study was conducted between December 2020 and December 2021 in the dermatology department of a single tertiary center in Turkey. The HRQoL index of the pediatric patients was assessed with the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI). At the same time, their parents, who were primarily involved in the disease process, were evaluated using the Dermatological Family Impact Scale (DeFIS). An ordinal logistic regression model was used to detect predictors for CDLQI severity. Results The mean ± SD CDLQI of the pediatric patients who participated in our study was 8.4 ± 5.3, corresponding to moderate impairment. The highest impairment in CDLQI was observed in the symptoms and feelings domain, while the slightest impairment was observed in the domain of personal relationships (P