Article type
Year
Abstract
Background: Alopecia is a common condition among people with a range of causes including nutritional deficiencies.
Objectives: To assess the effects of using dietary supplements on alopecia.
Methods: A systematic search of relevant articles in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PUBMED, EMBASE, trial registries, and the reference lists of relevant articles was conducted on September 30, 2019. The random controlled trails (RCTs) focusing on the effectiveness of dietary supplements for alopecia will be included. We used a randomed-effect model to calculate mean differences (MDs) or standardized mean differences (SMDs) for continuous data, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We assessed the risk of bias of included studies using The Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool.
Results: We identified 288 papers in the initial search. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, eight articles with 588 participants which compared dietary supplements with placebo were ultimately included. The overall quality of the included studies was low or very low for all comparisons. Through the meta-analysis, we found that the terminal hair diameter (MD = 0.28, I²= 28%, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.53, P < 0.05) and vellus hair count (MD = 1.43, I²= 39%, 95% CI: 0.32 to 2.54, P < 0.05) were significantly increased after dietary supplements treatment compared to the control group. However, compared with the control group, the total hair count, total hair density and terminal hair count of the treatment group did not increase significantly.
Conclusions: Compared with the control group, the total hair count, total hair density and terminal hair diameter of the treatment group did not increase significantly. About self-evaluation of satisfaction and adverse events, we did a systematic review. We don't have enough evidence that dietary supplements are effective and safe for alopecia.
Objectives: To assess the effects of using dietary supplements on alopecia.
Methods: A systematic search of relevant articles in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PUBMED, EMBASE, trial registries, and the reference lists of relevant articles was conducted on September 30, 2019. The random controlled trails (RCTs) focusing on the effectiveness of dietary supplements for alopecia will be included. We used a randomed-effect model to calculate mean differences (MDs) or standardized mean differences (SMDs) for continuous data, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We assessed the risk of bias of included studies using The Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool.
Results: We identified 288 papers in the initial search. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, eight articles with 588 participants which compared dietary supplements with placebo were ultimately included. The overall quality of the included studies was low or very low for all comparisons. Through the meta-analysis, we found that the terminal hair diameter (MD = 0.28, I²= 28%, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.53, P < 0.05) and vellus hair count (MD = 1.43, I²= 39%, 95% CI: 0.32 to 2.54, P < 0.05) were significantly increased after dietary supplements treatment compared to the control group. However, compared with the control group, the total hair count, total hair density and terminal hair count of the treatment group did not increase significantly.
Conclusions: Compared with the control group, the total hair count, total hair density and terminal hair diameter of the treatment group did not increase significantly. About self-evaluation of satisfaction and adverse events, we did a systematic review. We don't have enough evidence that dietary supplements are effective and safe for alopecia.