In the News – Low Iron Doesn’t Cause Female Hair Loss?

Snippet from the article:

Although past research has suggested a correlation between iron deficiency (ID) and female pattern hair loss (FPHL) or chronic telogen effluvium (CTE), a recent population-based study published in the December issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology finds no such association.

Elise A. Olsen, M.D., of the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., and colleagues assessed 381 women with FPHL or CTE and 76 controls to see what, if any, role ID plays in the two conditions.

Read the rest of the story — Iron Deficiency Not Likely Culprit in Female Hair Loss.

The study shows that while iron deficiency is commonly found in women, it doesn’t appear to be increased in those women with hair loss or telogen effluvium. This goes against what we previously believed to be one of the many possible causes of female hair loss.

I’m sure there will be more research to come, and I’ll post more about this as I find it. Read the abstract in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.