Letters: Association of sensorineural hearing loss in patientswith alopecia areata: A nationwide population-based cohort study

Alopecia areata (AA) is a common autoimmune disease, leading to chronic and relapsing hair loss.1 Current evidence suggests that follicular melanocytes may be an important target in the autoimmune process of AA.2 In addition to their presence in the skin, melanocytes are also present as intermediate cells in the stria vascularis of the cochlea, which are critical for normal hearing. In patients with Vogt-KoyanagiHarada disease, a rare autoimmune disorder that targets melanocytes, sensorineural hearing loss (HL) is a common complication in late-stage disease. Few studies have found audiological abnormalities in patients with AA3,4; however, existing studies are limited by their cross-sectional designs and small sample sizes. This nationwide population-based cohort study
was conducted to investigate the risk of HL in patients with AA using claims data from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan.