Lichen planopilaris and Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia: What diseases are more common?

Thyroid Diseases, Psoriasis, Lupus, Lichen Planus and Vitiligo Top List of Diseases Found

Researchers from New York sought to determine if patients with lichen planopilaris or frontal fibrosing alopecia were at risk for other diseases. They compared data from 203 patients with LPP and 173 patients with FFA to data from over 1 million patients in a data base who did not have LPP or FFA.

The average age of patients with LPP was 53.4 and the average age of patents with FFA was 60.9.

I have summarized some of the key findings below. Patients with LPP were more likely to have psoriasis and lichen planus and less likely to have type 2 diabetes. Patients with FFA were more likely to have hypothyroidism, psoriasis, lupus and vitiligo and less likely to have type 2 diabetes compared to patients in the general population. There was no differences in the frequency of celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s or type 1 diabetes in patients with either LPP or FFA compared to the general population.

Comment

This is an important study which helps highlight some important comorbidities. It’s clear that LPP and FFA have many overlapping conditions as would be expected but there are distinct differences.

Reference

Trager MH, et al. Medical comorbidities and sex distribution among patients with lichen planopilaris and frontal fibrosing alopecia: A retrospective cohort study. Am Acad Dermatol. 2021. PMID: 32781188 No abstract available.