Effect of hairpieces on perceived quality of life in female pattern hair loss patients: Questionnaire based study

摘要

Dear Editor, Because hair plays important roles in self body image, hair loss remarkably affects patients' quality of life (QOL). For hair camouflage, a wig/hairpiece is most effective and indeed we have recently reported significant preferential effect of a wig/hairpiece on perceived QOL of patients with alopecia areata (AA) and male androgenetic alopecia (AGA)2 using the Psychological Impact of Assistive Device Scale (PIADS). Here, we quantitatively evaluate the impact of hairpieces for patients with female pattern hair loss (FPHL) using the PIADS. This scoring is a 26-item, self-rating questionnaire, addressing three QOL indicators: (i) competence; (ii) adaptability; and (iii) self-esteem. The scores range from -3 to +3, with a 0 indicating no change and a positive score QOL improvement. Twenty females with FPHL, who were using a hairpiece, were enrolled in this study from July 2012 to February 2013 at the wig salon of Aderans (Aderans Osaka Salon, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan) after informed consent had been obtained. Their ages ranged 46-83 years (median, 70.5 years). Psychosocial QOL was measured using the Japanese version of PIADS (J-PAIDS) and degree of satisfaction with their own appearance with the hairpiece was measured using a 0-10-cm visual analog scale (VAS). The severity of FPHL was evaluated using Taj-ima's rating from 1-6 by comparing with the standard photographs of hair loss severity. As a result, two patients were evaluated as 2, three patients as 3, three patients as 4, seven patients as 5 and five patients as 6. This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles originating from the Declaration of Helsinki, reviewed and approved by an institutional review board. For statistics, the change from zero (baseline in PIADS) was examined by Mann-Whitney U-test as described in our recent studies.