Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia, a form of scarring alopecia on the scalp, leads to permanent hair loss in African-American women.
Although the exact cause of central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) is not known, heredity, and hair styling techniques like tight braids, hair extensions, use of hot combs, hair straighteners and chemical relaxers, to name a few, have been suggested as causes of CCCA. (Source: The Australasian College Of Dermatologists).
A new study conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests that there is an increased risk of uterine fibroids in African-American women with central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia.
The study involved analyzing patient data from the Johns Hopkins electronic medical record system of 487,104 black women, ages 18 and over, during a four-year period from 2013-2017. The prevalence of fibroids in patients with and without CCCA was compared.
According to the researchers, "13.9 percent of women with CCCA also had a history of uterine fibroids compared to only 3.3 percent of black women without the condition".
Crystal Aguh, assistant professor of dermatology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, while cautioning that the cause of the link between CCCA and fibroids remains unclear, noted that the association is strong enough, to recommend that physicians and patients be made aware of it.
The research findings are published in the monthly peer-reviewed medical journal JAMA Dermatology.
by RTT Staff Writer
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