Comorbidity of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents with alopecia areata in a child and adolescent psychiatry clinical sample

BACKGROUND: This study reports the comorbidity of lifetime psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents with alopecia areata (AA) in a child and adolescent psychiatry clinical sample. METHODS: Fourteen patients with AA were interviewed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth edition (DSM-IV) criteria and the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime-Farsi Version (KSADS-PL-Farsi Version). RESULTS: The rate of at least one psychiatric disorder was 78%. The rate of major depressive disorder was 50%, and the most common anxiety disorder was obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (35.7%). CONCLUSIONS: There is a very high rate of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents with AA. This high rate of OCD has not been reported previously. There seems to be a clinical association between OCD and AA in children and adolescents.