Demographics and disease characteristics of patients with alopecia areata with comorbid atopic dermatitis, vitiligo or anxiety/depression: TARGET-DERM AA.

Challenge

AA frequently co-occurs with AD, vitiligo, anxiety, and depression, but the specific impact of these comorbidities on AA disease severity and patient-reported burden had not been characterized in a large real-world North American registry, limiting the design of comorbidity-aware trials and holistic treatment assessments.

Solution

The TARGET-DERM AA registry was used to characterize demographics, SALT severity, and patient-reported anxiety, depression, and AAPPO outcomes across AA patients with and without comorbid AD, vitiligo, and anxiety/depression.

Impact

Establishing that anxiety and depression are highly prevalent in AA—particularly in adults—and are associated with worse patient-reported disease experience provides evidence for psychiatric endpoints in AA trials and supports the value of holistic treatment effects beyond scalp hair regrowth in regulatory and payer contexts.