The Financial and Time Burden of Alopecia Areata

Patients with alopecia areata (AA) face significant disease burden. We aim to describe the financial and time burden of AA and how these are modified by demographic and clinical factors. Adults with AA participated in an online survey. A multivariate linear regression analyzed AA-related financial and time expenditures, controlling for demographic variables and AA characteristics. The majority of participants were white (80.0%), non-Hispanic (89.1%), and female (86.2%), with many reporting an annual income ≥$100,000 (34.2%) and almost all having health insurance (96.0%). Most participants described their AA as severe (55.2%). AA-related expenses averaged $1952 ± $2940 over 6 months, and participants spent a monthly average of 21.2 ± 34.9 h on AA-related tasks and activities. Wigs were the greatest source of expenses ($930 ± $1940) and time spent (3.8 ± 9.6 h). Higher income, younger age, female gender, and severe disease were associated with higher AA costs, and lower income, female gender, and severe disease were associated with greater time spent on AA (p < 0.05). Patients spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on AA annually. Wigs are the greatest source of expenditures. Female patients and those with severe disease experience an elevated degree of disease burden. Limitations include most participants being white, non-Hispanic females with health insurance and an annual income over $100,000. Future work should aim to confirm these findings in more diverse cohorts and improve insurance coverage for AA.