Jonathan Chadwick wrote this article in the Daily Mail:
Fatigue, loss of smell and chest pains are all some of the better known long-term effects that persist months after coronavirus infection.
But according to a new scientific paper, almost a quarter of Covid-19 survivors may have to adjust to hair loss too.
The study, published in The Lancet, reveals that 359 out of 1,655 patients hospitalised in Wuhan, China – 22 per cent – had experienced hair loss six months after being discharged.
Dermatologists say hair loss is a normal physiological response to a stressful event like an infectious illness and is only temporary – but Covid could be linked to conditions like alopecia, which can lead to irreversible hair loss.
Covid-19 patients looked at for this study had been discharged from Jin Yin-tan Hospital in Wuhan between January 7 and May 29, 2020.
Six months later, patients were interviewed with a series of questionnaires for evaluation of symptoms and health-related quality of life, underwent physical examinations and a six-minute walking test, and received blood tests
Researchers found that the survivors were mainly troubled with fatigue or muscle weakness, sleep difficulties, and anxiety or depression – but hair loss was also one of the primary outcomes.
In all, 63 per cent had experienced fatigue or muscle weakness, 26 per cent had had sleeping difficulties and 23 per cent had had anxiety or depression, as well as 22 per cent with hair loss.
Dr Lambert collected 1,567 responses in an online survey from people with long Covid symptoms.
She found 423 of this total had experienced hair loss – the 21st most commonly cited symptom on a list of the 50 (which was topped by fatigue).
'While the impact of Covid-19 on the lungs and vascular system have received some media and medical attention, the results of this survey suggest that brain, whole body, eye, and skin symptoms are also frequent-occurring health problems for people recovering,' Dr Lambert said.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), Covid-induced hair loss is due to telogen effluvium (TE) – a shedding condition caused by a disturbance in the hair growth cycle.
TE results in a high percentage of anagen follicles (follicles which are actively growing hair), going into their resting phase prematurely across the scalp
TE lasts somewhere between six to nine months before hair returns to its normal thickness and appearance, it says.
'It happens when more hairs than normal enter the shedding (telogen) phase of the hair growth lifecycle at the same time,' AAD says.
'A fever or illness can force more hairs into the shedding phase. Most people see noticeable hair shedding two to three months after having a fever or illness.'
'It's quite common for TE-related hair loss to present around three months after a period of severe trauma, illness or stress, which fits with our findings,' said Rali Bozhinova, superintendent trichologist at the Belgravia Centre.
'The spike in diagnoses shows the extent of stress that the virus places on the body, not only causing temporary TE, but also potentially exacerbating other hair loss conditions which can have long lasting effects if left untreated.'
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