The association of ABO blood groups and serum ferritin levels with telogen effluvium in women

Abstract

Aim: Telogen effluvium(TE) in women is a common problem in dermatology and has multiple etiologic causes. Low iron stores can be a possible contributing factor in TE. Although etiopathogenesis is not fully understood, many studies show remarkable associations between various diseases and ABO blood groups. Genomewide association studies have reported alleles in the ABO locus to be associated with ferritin levels. We had done this study with TE patients to detect serum ferritin levels and to find this relation between blood groups. Material and Methods: Healthy people and patients with TE were included in this study. A total of 103 females who have telogen effluvium and 125 controls were included. Results: ABO blood group and Rhesus factor distribution in patients with TE and distribution of healthy donors were similar. There haven’t any significant association between ferritin levels and blood groups in TE patients. Conclusion: There are many different causes in TE etiology, for this reason in our opinion, ferritin levels and other laboratory tests must be done. We conclude that there was no evocation between ABO blood groups, Rhesus factor and ferritin levels in TE, but this is the first study that can show this relationship and can be important for new studies which will be carried out in other centers with wider series.