Risk of Diabetes in Patients with CCCA: A Third Study Points to Link

Patients with CCCA are at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes.

Two prior studies by Coogan et al and Kyei et al suggested that women with Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) are at risk for diabetes. A third study now supports this notion.

The study was a study of black women between the ages of 18 and 74 who presented over a 4 year period to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Electronic data bases were searched to find patients with a clinical diagnosis of CCCA and also those with a biopsy proven diagnosis too.

Using the “hemoglobin A1c” blood test as a marker for diabetes, the researchers showed that 58 % of 181 women with CCCA had an elevated hemoglobin A1c test result that suggested a diagnosis of diabetes. In contrast, 43 % of 16, 454 women who did not have CCCA had an elevated hemoglobin A1c test result that suggested a diagnosis of diabetes.

The researchers also looked at the data another way. Of women in the study with a clinical diagnosis CCCA, 37 % had a history of diabetes compared to just 12 % of control patients. All in all, these data suggested that women with CCCA are at a 4.13 fold increased risk for diabetes compared to race, age and sex matched controls.

Of women in the study with a biopsy proven diagnosis of CCCA, 32 % had a history of diabetes compared to just 12 % of control patients. All in all, this data suggested that women with CCCA are at a 3.26 fold increased risk for diabetes.

Conclusion and Summary

Women wth CCCA, including non obese women, are at increased risk for diabetes. Appropriate diabetes screening is needed for all patients with CCCA.

Reference

Roche et al. Association of type 2 diabetes with central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia: A follow-up study. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2021 Feb 18;S0190-9622(21)00361-3

Coogan PF et al. Association of type 2 iabetes with central-scalp hair loss in a large cohort study of African American women. .Int J Womens Dermatol. 2019 Jun 6;5(4):261-266.

Kyei et al. Medical and environmental risk factors for the development of central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia: a population study..Arch Dermatol. 2011 Aug;147(8):909-14.