Studies have identified increased prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with alopecia areata (AA), an autoimmune disease characterized by hair loss, but none have prospectively examined vitamin D status and incident AA. In 55,929 women in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS), we prospectively evaluated the association between estimated vitamin D status, derived from a prediction model incorporating lifestyle determinants of serum vitamin D, and self-reported incident AA. We evaluated dietary, supplemental, and total vitamin D intake as additional exposures. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we calculated age-adjusted and multivariate hazard ratios (HR) to evaluate risk of AA. We identified 133 cases of AA over a follow-up of 12 years. The age-adjusted HR between top vs. bottom quartiles for serum vitamin D score was 0.94 (95 % CI 0.60-1.48) and the corresponding multivariate HR was 1.08 (95 % CI 0.68-1.73). There was no significant association between dietary, supplemental, or total vitamin D intake and incident AA. This study does not support a preventive role for vitamin D in the risk of developing AA.
Keywords: Alopecia areata; Epidemiology; Nurses’ Health Study; Vitamin D.