Biochemical Determinants Of Premature Canities In Pune, India: An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Biochemical and hormonal imbalances need to be explored for their potential role in the premature greying of hair (PHG) so that they can be leveraged to prevent and treat the condition itself. The present study was conducted to determine the bio-chemical factors associated with PHG.

Methods: A hospital-based, analytical cross-sectional design was undertaken among the 57 PHG patients and 57 controls, attending the dermatological outpatient clinic at a tertiary-level health centre in Pune, Maharashtra. Mann-Whitney test was employed to test the significance in difference of the bio-chemical parameters between the PHG group and the control group.

Results: Higher percentage of the patients in PHG group had vitamin D deficiency (31.6%), than the control group (7%). Vitamin B12 deficiency was higher in the control group (77.2%) than PHG group (68.4%). Prevalence of hypocalcaemia was higher among PHG group (29.8%), while none in the control group were found to have hypocalcaemia. PHG patients had significantly lower vitamin D levels (p<0.001), calcium levels (p=0.001), HDL (p=0.002), TSH (p<0.001) and Ferritin levels (p<0.001) than the control groups. However, serum Vitamin B12 levels were found to be similar between the PHG and control group. (p=0.702). Low ferritin levels were found among 3.5% of the PHG patients and none in control group had low ferritin.

Conclusion: Vitamin D, calcium, HDL, TSH and Ferritin may be included in the routine evaluation of the premature canities for prompt diagnosis of the deficiencies and initiate appropriate interventions at the earliest.