Objective: To determine if iron deficiency (ID) is more common in women with FPHL and/or CTE than in controls without hair loss and to discuss the methodology used to determine ID without anemia.
Methods: This was a controlled study of 424 Caucasian women greater than or equal to 18 years old with FPHL or CTE seen in the Duke University Hair Disorders Clinic and 76 Caucasian women greater than or equal to 18 years of age from the Duke University environs who had no history or physical findings of hair loss (controls). All subjects had to have at least a serum ferritin and hemoglobin and history of menopausal status. Controls were matched for menopausal status.
Results: When a ferritin less than or equal to 15 μg/L was used as the definition, ID occurred in 11.5%, 12.7% and 29.8% of premenopausal women with FPHL (n=182), CTE (n=71) and controls (n=47) respectively and 1.7%, 12.0% and 6.9% of postmenopausal women with FPHL (n=121), CTE (n=50) and controls (n=29) respectively. When ferritin less than or equal to 40 μg/L was used as the definition, ID occurred in 57.1%, 63.4% and 72.3% of premenopausal women with FPHL, CTE or controls respectively and 26.4%, 38.0% and 20.7% of postmenopausal women with FPHL, CTE or controls respectively. When ferritin less than or equal to 70 μg/L was used as the definition, ID occurred in 85.7%, 84.5%, and 91.4% of premenopausal women with FPHL, CTE or controls respectively and 56.1%, 64.0%, and 65.5% of postmenopausal women with FPHL, CTE or controls respectively. There was no statistically significant increase in the incidence of ID in premenopausal or postmenopausal women with FPHL or CTE versus controls.
Conclusion: ID is common in women but not increased in subjects with FPHL or CTE compared to controls.