Relationship Between Anemia and Telogen Effluvium in Post-COVID-19 Survivors

There are insufficient studies in the literature on the relationship between the acute severity of disease and the occurrence of anemia and telogen effluvium (TE) in the post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) period.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between anemia and TE in individuals who had experienced COVID-19 during the post-COVID period.

The study has a retrospective cross-sectional design and was conducted on patients presenting to a tertiary care hospital for COVID-19 follow-up. Patient data, including demographic parameters, data regarding smoking history, comorbidities, symptoms, and laboratory panel at presentation, were evaluated.

Out of 672 patients, 249 had TE complaints. TE was more common in females, those under the average age of this patient group, and those with a body mass index of under 25. Anemia was identified in 80 patients. Among individuals with anemia, TE was observed in 47.3%, whereas among those without anemia, the occurrence of TE was noted at a rate of 35.5%. When the severity of infection in the acute phase was examined in relation to the presence of TE in the post-COVID period, TE was observed in 45.1% of those receiving outpatient treatment, 37.0% of those hospitalized, and 30.7% of those in intensive care.

The results obtained in this study group indicate that TE complaints after COVID-19 are more common in those with anemia, but the fact that they did not correlate with the acute disease's severity requires consideration of other causes besides the virus effect.