Erişkin Kadın Telogen Effluvium Hastalarında Serum Prolaktin Düzeyleri: Vaka Kontrol Çalışması

Abstract

Objective: The effect of prolactin hormone on hair follicle is complicated and the relationship between prolactin and hair loss is still controversial. The aim of this study is to evaluate the serum prolactin levels in female patients with telogen effluvium and to discuss its role in hair loss. Material and methods: Forty-seven adult female patients diagnosed with telogen effluvium and forty-two age matched healthy female controls were included in this retrospective study. Serum prolactin levels were statistically compared between telogen effluvium patients and healthy controls (Mann-Whitney U test). Results: The median age of patient group was 29 (19-46) years and the median duration of symptoms was 12 (1-156) months. Neither patients nor the controls had hyperprolactinemia. The median serum prolactin level of patients was 10.47 ng/mL (2.75-23.53) which is statistically significantly lower than controls (p=0.033). No statistically significant difference was detected in prolactin levels between acute and chronic telogen effluvium patients (p=0.444). Conclusion: In contrast to most studies mentioning the catagen inducing effect of prolactin, in this study lower prolactin levels were found in patients diagnosed with telogen effluvium compared to the control group. However the majority of these studies associating hyperprolactinemia and hair loss include hyperandrogenemic cases and the catagen inducing effect of prolactin is mostly reported with high doses. In this study, absence of patients with hyperprolactinemia and hyperandrogenism may explain the contrast findings with the literature. As a result, it may be useful to consider the dose and gender dependent effects of prolactin in hair loss.