Dermoscopy-assisted prevalence of hair loss after COVID-19 vaccination among an Egyptian population: a cross-sectional study.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) currently named SARS-CoV-2 is a contagious disease caused by a coronavirus; incompatible data are present on the possible relationship among COVID-19 vaccines and hair loss. The objective of the current study was to assess dermoscopically the prevalence of hair loss among an Egyptian population following COVID-19 vaccination. A total of 2000 participants were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Adult males and females who received one of recognized COVID-19 vaccine were included, irrespective of the status of previous COVID-19 infection. Those who were aged less than 18years or above 60years were excluded. Furthermore, subjects self-reporting hair loss were assessed by dermoscopy. Among the studied cases, n = 478 (23.9%) complained of hair loss following vaccination. The majority of cases noticed their hair loss during the first 2months post-vaccination (n = 215 after the first month and n = 158 after the 2nd month respectively). We reported prevalence of post-vaccination hair fall that was confirmed by trichoscopy and which affected approximately one quarter of participants who received COVID-19 vaccines. Other factors, such as stress and infection, cannot be excluded and remain to be further investigated by larger multicenter studies.