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Psychiatric Comorbidities in Pseudofolliculitis Barbae: A Cross-Sectional Study of the All of Us Database
Christine Olagun-Samuel1, Rohan Ahuja2, Sophia Manduca1
1Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Introduction:
Pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB) is a chronic inflammatory condition of hair follicles characterized by inflamed papules and pustules, with increased risk in individuals with curly or coarse hair. While psychiatric comorbidities in acne are well studied, limited research exists on PFB's psychological impact.
Methods:
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of individuals with PFB using the All of Us dataset, which includes EHR data from US adults since 2018.
Results:
A total of N = 1,668 individuals were included in the matched dataset, with 834 PFB cases and 834 controls and were assessed for diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and general anxiety disorder (GAD). The association between the presence of ADHD and PFB was significant (p value = 0.009). Similarly, the presence of GAD (23% of PFB patients and 10% of patients without PFB) and MDD (48.4% of PFB patients and 26.3% of patients without PFB) was significantly associated with the presence of PFB (p value <0.001 for both conditions). However, OCD was found not to be significantly associated with the presence of PFB (p = 0.15).
Discussion:
Our study demonstrated a significant association between PFB and mood disorders like depression or anxiety. Future studies should examine PFB severity and treatment efficacy on psychological outcomes.
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