Zucchelli, F., Harries, M., Messenger, A. orcid.org/0000-0003-1424-8069 et al. (1 more author) (2024) Establishing the financial burden of alopecia areata and its predictors. Skin Health and Disease, 4 (1). e301. ISSN 2690-442X
Abstract
Background Alopecia areata (AA) can have a significant impact on wellbeing. Consequently, individuals with AA often seek treatments or products to promote hair regrowth or camouflage their hair loss that incur a financial cost to the individual.
Objectives The current study aimed to examine the direct financial burden of AA to understand the wider impact of the condition and the factors which influence spending on products and services.
Methods A total of 829 United Kingdom based participants completed an online survey. Demographic and condition-specific data were collected, alongside spending on AA-related products and services. Participants were asked about their use of products and services, the associated costs, how they financed these costs, and their household income to determine what percentage of income they spent on products and services.
Results Participants predominantly identified as female (85.9%), white (92.7%) with a mean age of 42.7 years and a median AA duration of 10.94 years. Female gender, Asian ethnicity, lower income, and worse AA symptoms predicted higher spend from income. Wigs were the most common product used and incurred the greatest cost (median £700). The highest cost for men was private dermatology services (median = £550). On average people spent 3% of their disposable income (prior to housing costs) on AA-related products and services.
Conclusions This study outlines the risk factors associated with higher financial burden from managing AA which require consideration by health providers, commissioners, and policy makers when designing services to support the wellbeing of people living with AA.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Authors. Skin Health and Disease published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Association of Dermatologists. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > The Medical School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 16 Oct 2023 13:40 |
Last Modified: | 09 Oct 2024 15:47 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/ski2.301 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:204289 |