The study of premature canities and its association in tertiary care hospital

 

 

Abstract              Background: Canities, or hair graying, is a process of chronological aging and occurs regardless of gender or race. The temples usually show graying first, followed by the crown and later to the scalp's occipital area. Biotin, zinc, and calcium pantothenate commonly used for Prematurecanities. Aim: To study premature greying and its association with other diseases, measure the severity of greying by Graying Severity Score (GSS), and know the efficacy of biotin, zinc, and calcium pantothenate in Prematurecanities. Methods: This study consists of 50 patients presenting with premature canities from September 2019 to September 2020 to the department of DVL, OPD; Santhiram Medical College and General Hospital, Nandyal. A detailed history was taken in a preformed proforma. A thorough scalp examination was done with trichoscopy and took digital photographs. Calculated the GSS and treated with the combination of biotin, zinc, and calciumpantothenate. Results: The earliest age of onset recorded was eight years. Positive family history of was seen in 6(12%)cases. Smoking was seen in 2(4%) cases. Association with other diseases were seen as Anaemia in 17(34%) cases, Alopecia areata in 7(14%) cases, Thyroid disorder in 4(8%) cases, Vitiligo in 4(8%) cases, Atopic dermatitis in 4(8%) cases. The temporal regions of the scalp were most commonly involved, followed by the frontal area. 8(16%) subjects had mild GSS I, and they showed moderate efficacy, whereas 19(38%) had moderate GSS II and showed mild efficacy, but 23(46%) hadsevere GSS III and showed no efficacy with a combination of biotin, zinc and calcium pantothenate treatment.  Conclusion: Premature canities is a significant trichological disorder in India. The most frequent associations observed wereVitiligo, Thyroid disorder, Alopecia areata, Anaemia, smoking. We recommend the Graying Severity Scoring system's application and utility, and essential investigations to know the association of Premature canities with other disorders. Therapy with a combination of biotin, zinc, and calcium pantothenate showed no significant efficacy. The future of treatment options for premature canities lies with targeting genes and proteins involved in hair follicle melanocyte.

Keywords: Canities, Graying severity score, Biotin, Zinc, Calcium pantothenate.