Filling the Gaps: Vitamin D Status in Diffuse Hair Fall Among Pakistanis

Hair loss can happen for various reasons, including emotional stress, physical strain, certain medical issues, and nutritional gaps. When it comes to nutrition, a lack of vitamin D3 could be linked to diffuse hair loss.

The aim was to look for the frequency of vitamin D3 deficiency with diffuse hair fall, especially in the Pakistani population.

A total of 120 patients of both sexes and all ages presenting to the Dermatology Clinic with complaints of non-scarring alopecia and loss of over 100 strands of hair within a 24-hour period (counted by patient) of any duration and positive hair pull test were advised to take serum vitamin D3. Tests and results were then analyzed by SPSS statistical software package (version 19.0 for Windows).

The mean age of participants enrolled in the study was 28.56 ± 11.62 years. The majority of the patients, i.e., 77 (63.64%), were ≤30 years of age. Among the 120 patients, 17 were males and 103 were females. Mean serum vitamin D3 levels were 17.33 ± 5.43 ng/ml. 95 (79.17%) patients were found to be vitamin D3 deficient, with 37 patients having female pattern hair loss, seven patients with male pattern hair loss, seven patients with diffuse alopecia areata, and 44 patients with telogen effluvium.

This study concluded that there is considerable frequency of vitamin D3 deficiency in individuals with diffuse hair fall. Therefore, we recommend that there should be early recognition and treatment of this condition in these particular patients in order to reduce hair fall.