Hair loss in adolescence may indicate a disorder – 10/23/2023 – Balance

Change in hair texture and, in each follicular unit, a predominant strand surrounded by smaller, more fragile strands. This would be a description of baldness that affects part of the population in adulthood and old age. But it is also about the characteristics of alopecia in children and young people, an audience that has appeared more frequently in dermatological consultations.

“Patients aged 10 or 20 are starting to arrive at our offices”, says Fabiane Mulinari Brenner, professor of dermatology at UFPR (Federal University of Paraná) and coordinator of the Hair Disorders Outpatient Clinic at Hospital de Clínicas de Curitiba.

The dermatologist was one of the speakers at the 76th^O Congress of the Brazilian Society of Dermatology, held last month in Florianópolis, where it reinforced the importance of monitoring these patients, since hair loss in childhood and adolescence can be an indication of hormonal disorders.

“Sometimes, teenagers come with a more aesthetic complaint, about the change in the texture of the hair, rather than actually thinning,” says the doctor. “He comes and says: ‘I entered adolescence and my hair changed. I had straight hair and it became curlier, and that’s bothering me.’

In this group of patients, explains Brenner, early baldness may indicate PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), a disease characterized by an increase in the production of male hormones (hyperandrogenism) and associated with greater risks of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular problems and some types of cancer. .

PCOS gets its name because, in females, hormonal disorders favor the formation of cysts in the ovaries, but male individuals can also develop some characteristics of the disease, such as increased levels of cholesterol and triglycerides.

Isolated, thinning hair does not confirm the diagnosis of hyperandrogenism, but if along with it there is obesity, menstrual irregularity, acne or increased body hair, then it is necessary to investigate further.

“The dermatologist has an important role in this group of patients: interfering with risk factors”, argues the doctor, reinforcing the importance of working together with pediatricians and endocrinologists and early treatment.

Starting treatment in childhood and adolescence reduces the effects of the syndrome, including hair loss. “The person will not recover 100% of their hair, but alopecia is progressive and, by stopping the progression, there is already a benefit. If nothing is done, the loss continues”, says Brenner.

Care

The causes of alopecia in children and adolescents are not yet fully defined, but it is believed that precocious puberty — studies associate the onset of menarche with the development of PCOS in adolescence — and exposure to endocrine disruptors, which cause changes in sexual hormones , have influence.

The SBP (Brazilian Society of Pediatrics) has a list of endocrine disruptors and where they can be found. In the case of alopecia, Brenner highlights phthalates, which make plastic malleable and can be found in products such as disposable cups and bottles and frozen food packaging.

Therefore, experts recommend, whenever possible, not to heat food in plastic containers in the microwave, not to store fatty foods in plastic containers, bags or films and not to give small children teethers or plastic toys.

The reporter traveled at the invitation of SBD (Brazilian Society of Dermatology)