Society ‘stigmatises’ hair loss and alopecia, study finds – Daily Mail
People without hair are seen as unattractive, dirty, contagious and unintelligent by the general public, a shocking study has found.
Researchers in America surveyed more than 2,000 people about how they felt about alopecia – the medical term for hair loss.
Their findings suggest that as many as one in six people would be uncomfortable having physical contact with someone with alopecia.
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People without hair are seen as unattractive, dirty, contagious and unintelligent by the general public, a shocking study has found.
Researchers in America surveyed more than 2,000 people about how they felt about alopecia – the medical term for hair loss.
Their findings suggest that as many as one in six people would be uncomfortable having physical contact with someone with alopecia.
Data also revealed 6.2 per cent of people would not be comfortable hiring someone with alopecia for a job.
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Scientists from Harvard surveyed more than 2,000 people online and provided them with six images of people created via a combination of stock images and AI. These same people were then edited to make two additional versions — one with a bald head and one with no visible hair at all, including the loss of eyebrows, eyelashes and facial hair. Pictured, examples of the images used
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF HAIR LOSS?
It is perfectly normal for people to lose small amounts of hair as it replenishes itself and, on average, people can shed between 50 and 100 hairs per day.
However, if people start to lose entire patches of hair or large amounts of it it can be more distressing and potentially a sign of something serious.
Pattern baldness is a common cause of hair loss as people grow older. At least half of men over the age of 50 will lose some of their hair just through the ageing process, according to the British Association of Dermatologists.
Women may lose their hair as they grow older, too.
Other, more concerning causes of hair loss include stress, cancer treatment such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, weight loss or an iron deficiency.
Most hair loss is temporary, however, and can be expected to grow back.
Specific medical conditions which cause the hair to fall out include alopecia, a disorder of the immune system; an underactive or overactive thyroid; the skin condition lichen planus or Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer.
People should visit their doctor if their hair starts to fall out in lumps, falls out suddenly, if their scalp itches or burns, and if hair loss is causing them severe stress.
‘Patients with the most severe hair loss were thought to be sick (29.8 per cent), not attractive (27.2 per cent), contagious (9.9 per cent), unintelligent (3.9 per cent), and dirty (3.9 per cent), the researchers write in their study, published today in JAMA Dermatology.
Alopecia is an autoimmune …….
