
USF-LVHN SELECT
Title
Systematic Review of Psychological Interventions for Quality of Life, Mental Health, and Hair Growth in Alopecia Areata and Scarring Alopecia.
Publication/Presentation Date
1-26-2023
Abstract
Alopecia is associated with significant psychological burden. There is limited evidence on the use of psychological interventions in conditions of hair loss. This manuscript systematically reviews the current state of literature on psychological treatments for quality of life, mental health, and hair growth in various forms of alopecia. PubMed and Embase were searched with predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Reference lists were also examined for relevant studies. Nine articles met our criteria and are included in this review. Eight of the articles related to alopecia areata and one related to scarring alopecia. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) was found to improve quality of life-related subjective symptoms, relationship impacts, anxiety, phobia, distress, and psychological symptom intensity. Alopecia-specific collocated behavioral health (CLBH) treatment showed a trend for psychosocial improvement in areas such as appearance shame, activity avoidance, negative emotions, and coping. Hypnotherapy was found to improve anxiety and depression, quality of life measures, and alexithymia. There was also some evidence for significant hair growth with hypnosis, but the data are mixed. Psychotherapy combined with immunotherapy led to more hair growth, and supported self-confidence. Finally, coping strategies modulated the subjective burden of alopecia, and were associated with disease improvement. Further research will be necessary to better establish the efficacy and optimal administration of these interventions in alopecia.
Volume
12
Issue
3
ISSN
2077-0383
Published In/Presented At
Maloh, J., Engel, T., Natarelli, N., Nong, Y., Zufall, A., & Sivamani, R. K. (2023). Systematic Review of Psychological Interventions for Quality of Life, Mental Health, and Hair Growth in Alopecia Areata and Scarring Alopecia. Journal of clinical medicine, 12(3), 964. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12030964
Disciplines
Medical Education | Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
36769612
Department(s)
USF-LVHN SELECT Program, USF-LVHN SELECT Program Students
Document Type
Article