Does Deficiency of Vitamin D have a Role in Alopecia Areata?
By Dr. Jeff Donovan
Research Studies:
Yilmaz and Colleagues. Vitamin D Concentrations are Decreased in Patients with Alopecia Areata. Vitamins and Trace Elements 2012: 1: 3
d’Ovidio and Colleagues. Reduced level of 25- hydroxyvitamin D in chronic/relapsing alopecia areata. Dermatoendocrinol 2013; 5: 271-273
Vitamin D has an import role in the immune system and low levels of vitamin D are thought to be a risk factor for some autoimmune diseases including type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease. Several recent studies have examined whether low vitamin D levels have role in alopecia areata.
A Study from Turkey published in the journal Vitamins and Trace Elements compared the levels of vitamin D in 42 individuals with alopecia areata and 42 individuals who did not have alopecia areata. Levels of vitamin D were reduced in those with alopecia areata compared to those without.
Recently a study from Italy published in the journal Dermatoendocrinology showed a similar finding, namely that a vitamin D deficiency was present in 40 % of individuals with AA compared to 30 % of individuals without AA.
What are we to make of these research findings?
It’s important to realize that these research studies inform us that individuals with alopecia areata are more likely to have low vitamin D levels. It does not mean that low vitamin D levels was a cause of the alopecia and it doesn’t mean that taking supplements will necessarily help with hair growth. Additional research studies are going to be needed to determine if taking vitamin D pills will help with hair growth. However, because of the benefit of vitamin D in so many areas of health, and the safety of vitamin D supplements, I advise all patients with alopecia areata to speak to their physicians to make sure their levels are normal and if not that they take vitamin D supplements.
