Factors affecting the severity of central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia

Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) is a type of scarring hair loss primarily seen in African-American women. The risk factors that affect the severity of disease remain unclear.

This study was designed to elucidate risk factors that may be associated with severity of CCCA.

A cross-sectional survey study was conducted. Women with biopsy-confirmed CCCA responded to a questionnaire and were grouped according to a photographic scale of central scalp alopecia. The severity of disease was considered: grade 1 and 2 disease was interpreted as early-stage CCCA, and grade 3-5 disease was interpreted as advanced-stage CCCA. Data from the questionnaire were compared with levels of severity to determine the strength of associations with severity of disease.

A total of 38 women with biopsy-confirmed CCCA were recruited to participate in this study. Early-stage CCCA was seen in 22 subjects (57.9%), and advanced-stage CCCA was noted in 16 subjects (42.1%). The average duration of hair loss was 5.7 years in early-stage disease and 10.1 years in advanced-stage disease. There was a positive correlation between duration of hair loss and degree of hair loss (Spearman's correlation 0.471, P = 0.003).

This study reports on data sourced from patients with biopsy-confirmed CCCA and examines the relationships between various factors and severity of CCCA. The findings demonstrate that duration of hair loss is positively associated with severity of disease and that androgen-related conditions are prevalent in those affected with CCCA.