Background: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common, genetically predisposed condition among men and women, which commences at any age after puberty. It may significantly affect a variety of psychological and social experiences and the individual’s quality of life (QOL).
Objectives: This study aims to investigate the QOL of AGA patients, which is influenced by factors such as previous non-medical hair care experiences, reason for hospital visit, age, duration, and severity of AGA.
Methods: A total of 998 male patients with AGA participated; they were interviewed using the Hair Specific Skindex-29.
Results: The results of the Hair Specific Skindex-29 on patients with AGA were as follows: symptom scale: 26.3 ± 19.5, function scale: 24.0 ± 20.1, emotion scale: 32.1 ± 21.8, global score: 27.3 ± 19.1. According to this assessment, QOL was more damaged if the patient had severe alopecia, longer duration of AGA, younger age, received previous non-medical hair care, and visited the hospital for AGA treatment.
Conclusions: This study shows AGA could harmfully damage QOL in patients. Through this study, we were able to understand the physical, social, and emotional pain of the male patient with AGA, and helping the dermatologist in contribution to raising the quality of treatment. In many cases, dermatologist would be able to provide more suitable treatments to the patients based on the results of the QOL.