TOPLINE: 

In a large study, frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) was diagnosed more frequently at younger ages in patients with skin of color (SOC) than in White patients, despite most cases occurring in White individuals.

METHODOLOGY: 

• Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort analysis using data from Kaiser Permanente Northern California to evaluate the prevalence of FFA among 793 adults with FFA who visited the dermatology department between 2022 and 2024.
• Age, sex, and self-reported race and ethnicity were extracted from electronic health records.
• The mean patient age was 63.33 years, and 97% were women.

TAKEAWAY: 

• Of the 792 patients with FFA, 504 were White (63.64%) and 288 were patients with SOC (36.36%), which included Asian, Black, Hispanic, and multiracial individuals.
• The mean age at diagnosis was significantly higher in White individuals than those with SOC (67.09 vs 56.75 years; P < .01) and varied across racial and ethnic groups,including Asian (59.45 years), Black or African American (55.77 years), Hispanic (54.47 years), and multiracial/other patients (57.66 years).
• The largest proportion of White individuals were diagnosed at 70-79 years (35.32%), whereas patients with SOC were most often diagnosed at 60-69 years (29.86%). 

IN PRACTICE:

"Recognition of FFA in younger and racially/ethnically diverse populations has important implications such as early diagnosis allowing for timely intervention and expansion of educational resources," the authors wrote. "Future studies should explore differences in phenotype variation, disease sources, or treatment response among different racial and ethnic groups," they added.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Alexander Gomez-Lara, BA, BS, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, California, and was published online on December 31 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

LIMITATIONS: 

No limitations were mentioned in the study.

DISCLOSURES:

The study received no funding, and the authors reported no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.