With the widespread prevalence of COVID-19, researches have suggested a potential link between androgens and COVID-19 outcomes. However, the relationship between COVID-19 and androgenetic alopecia (AGA)-a condition strongly influenced by androgens-remains controversial in existing studies. Notably, there is a lack of large-scale clinical studies, particularly concerning data on the Chinese population following infection with the Omicron variant. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the correlation between AGA and severity of COVID-19 infection during the Omicron wave in China. We conducted this cross-sectional study of 1837 patients infected with Omicron variants, including 921 patients with AGA. The assessment of COVID-19 severity considered factors such as COVID-19 duration, the presence of fever, peak body temperature, and the fever duration. The results indicated that AGA patients experienced milder overall COVID-19 symptoms compared to non-AGA patients. AGA was significantly associated with a shorter COVID-19 duration and fever duration, with this correlation being more pronounced in the female population. Males generally had a higher risk of fever (OR=0.784,95% CI:0.622-0.99) but experienced a shorter COVID-19 duration. The regular use of anti-androgen therapy prior to Omicron infection did not significantly correlate with COVID-19 disease severity, suggesting that 5ARis-treated AGA patients may not be able to relieve COVID-19 symptoms.
Keywords: COVID-19; Omicron; androgenetic alopecia.
Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.