What is the prevalence and incidence of FFA?

New Study Estimates FFA Prevalence at 1 in 632 and Incidence at 1 in 6,464 in Real, Spain

An interesting new study from Spain attempts to estimate the prevalence and incidence of frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA). This is a challenging task for any study and prior studies by Lavian et al and Trager et al have offered estimates.

A 2021 study by Lavian et al put the incidence at 1 in 18, 458 and a closely related 2021 study by Trager et al put the prevalence at 1 in 6666.

Authors of a new study using data from Real Spain performed a retrospective, observational single-center study in the Hospital General Universitario in Ciudad Real, Spain. All patients with a diagnosis of FFA between 2010 and 2021 were included in the study. The prevalence and standardized incidence were calculated based on the assigned population of the “Gerencia de Atención Integrada” of Ciudad Real, a total of 193,881 persons in the year 2021. This number represents the potential population.

Overall, prevalence was calculated at 1 in 632 based on the 306 cases of FFA in the population of 193, 881. Incidence was calculated at 1 in 6,464.

Conclusion

I am always very interested in studies that examine incidence and prevalence data as this is important to understand how various diseases affect a population and how they might be changing over time.

The data here suggest that FFA might be more common than we realize or perhaps more common in certain parts of the world than other parts of the world. The Trager et al and Lavian et al data is from New York; This study presents data from Spain. It’s certainly possible (and extremely likely in fact) that different parts of the world have dramatically different prevalence and incidence of frontal fibrosing alopecia. If this data is accurate, it could be that this pocket in Spain has one of the highest incidences of FFA in the world - at least that we know so far.

REFERENCES

Carmona-Rodriquez M et al. Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia: An Observational Single-Center Study of 306 Cases. Life (Basel). 2023 Jun 8;13(6):1344.

Trager MH et al. Prevalence estimates for lichen planopilaris and frontal fibrosing alopecia in a New York City health care system. J Am Acad Dermatol 2021 Apr;84(4):1166-1169

Lavian J et al. Incidence estimates for lichen planopilaris and frontal fibrosing alopecia in a New York City health care system. Dermatol Online J. 2021 Aug 15;27(8).