COVID-19 is associated with flare-ups or flare-ups of various autoimmune diseasesn, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

Alopecia areata (Alopecia Areata-AA) is an autoimmune hair loss that occurs in susceptible individuals from environmental factors such as viruses, vaccinations and psychological stress.

There are an increasing number of reports of onset, flare-up and recurrence of alopecia areata following COVID-19. However, evidence supporting an association between COVID-19 and alopecia areata has been limited to date.

According to a scientific article published in “JAMA Dermatology” on January 10, 2024, and summarized by the pathologist professor of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine of the EKPA School of Medicine Theodora Psaltopoulou and the biologist Panagiota Zacharaki, in a comparison of 259,369 patients with COVID-19 with corresponding healthy ones (controls ) who had not been ill, found that the incidence of alopecia areata in patients with COVID-19 was proportionally higher than the incidence in the control group. In this study, the incidence of alopecia areata after COVID-19 increased significantly in all groups over 20 years of age, regardless of gender. This significant increase in the incidence and prevalence of alopecia areata after COVID-19 supports the possible role of the virus in the onset and exacerbation of alopecia areata, although other environmental factors as well, such as psychological stress, may have contributed to its onset. alopecia areata during the pandemic.

Potential mechanisms of post-COVID-19 alopecia areata include antigenic molecular mimicry between SARS-CoV-2 and hair follicle antigens, activation of cytokines and subsequent activation of the inflammatory response. This study highlights the epidemiologic association between COVID-19 and alopecia areata, and further studies are needed to validate the association between various immunological diseases and disease from COVID-19.