Background: Studies on the precise causes and comorbidities seen with lichen planopilaris (LPP) are limited.
Objective: We sought to determine the prevalence of thyroid diseases in patients with LPP.
Methods: Medical records of 166 patients with LPP and 81 age- and gender-matched control subjects seen in the Department of Dermatology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio between 2000 and 2013 were reviewed.
Results: A diagnosis of thyroid disease was present in 34% (n = 57) of the 166 patients with LPP, and in 11% (n = 9) of the control subjects (P = .0001). When confined to hypothyroidism only, this disease was found in 29% (n = 48) of the patients with LPP and 9% (n = 7) of the control subjects (P = .0003).
Limitations: This study was limited by being retrospective.
Conclusion: In our patients, LPP was associated with thyroid disease, especially hypothyroidism.
Keywords: alopecia; cicatricial alopecia; hypothyroidism; lichen planopilaris; thyroid disease; thyroiditis.
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