Quantitative Evaluation of Female Pattern Hair Loss in Chinese Women
Quantitative Evaluation of Female Pattern Hair Loss in Chinese Women
Background:
The common grading systems for female pattern hair loss (FPHL), such as Ludwig and Savin scales, are subjective to visual inspection.
To provide a more objective evaluation of baldness, the authors have developed a method to calculate baldness quantitatively through a computer-aided imaging system (CAIS).
Objective:
To investigate the use of CAIS on Chinese women with FPHL.
Materials and methods
Thirty-eight Chinese women with FPHL (Savin Scale I-2 to II-2) were recruited. A total of 215 photographs were taken.
The central balding areas (CBAs) were calculated after exposure correction by CAIS for comparison with clinical staging.
Results:
The average CBA was 9,391.12 mm2 in all patients, 3,828.84 mm2 in Type I-2, 5,880.38 mm2 in I-3, 8,267.44 mm2 in I-4, 12,999.26 mm2 in II-1, and 15,979.71 mm2 in II-2.
The values of CBA correlated with clinical staging using Savin scales. A 7.53% difference was found in the calculated CBA by exposure correction.
Conclusion:
The CAIS allows physicians to evaluate the severity of baldness more accurately through quantitative calculation, rather than qualitative visual observation.
The values of the CBA measured by the CAIS, used in conjunction with the present grading systems, may be more precise and efficient to evaluate the severity of FPHL.
A computer-aided imaging system measuring female-pattern hair loss produced results that were comparable to clinical staging using the Savin scale, according to recently published study results.
Researchers studied 38 Chinese women with female pattern hair loss (Savin Scale I-2 to II-2). They took 215 photographs and used a computer-aided imaging system (CAIS) was used to calculate central balding areas of each photograph.
There was a 7.53% difference in the central balding areas calculated. Average central balding areas were 9,391.12 mm2 in all patients, 3,828.84 mm2 in type I-2, 5,880.38 mm2 in I-3, 8,267.44 mm2 in I-4, 12,999.26 mm2 in II-1 and 15,979.71 mm2 in II-2. There was a clinical correlation between the values of central balding areas and of the Savin scales, with statistical significance in variance between Savin scales (P < .05).
“The CAIS allows physicians to evaluate the severity of baldness more accurately through qualitative visual observation,” the researchers concluded.
“The values of the [central balding areas] measured by the CAIS, used in conjunction with the present grading systems, may be more precise and efficient to evaluate the severity of [female-pattern hair loss].
“The authors hope this system can also be applied to other diseases of hair loss such as [male-pattern hair loss], alopecia areata, telogen effluvium and scarring alopecia.
It can also be used to evaluate other skin disease, such as melasma and vitiligo, by capturing and measuring areas of the skin that are affected.”
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