Does Vitamin D Deficiency Cause Hair Loss?
Research shows that people with alopecia areata have much lower levels of vitamin D than people who do not have alopecia. Vitamin D deficiency can also play a role in hair loss in people without alopecia.
1. Vitamin A
All cells need vitamin A for growth.
Vitamin A also helps skin glands make an oily substance called sebum. Good sources include sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, kale, and some animal foods.
Can Vitamin D Deficiency Cause Hair Loss?
When the body doesn’t have enough vitamin D, keratinocytes in hair follicles have trouble regulating hair growth and shedding.
“There is a link between vitamin D deficiency and alopecia, and it is often one of the common causes of thinning hair or hair loss in men or women,” Arielle Levitan, MD, an internal medicine physician in Chicago, tells WebMD Connect to Care.
Save Citation To File
It also affects the hair cycle, and its role in hair loss is under constant research. Objectives: This review aims to give a brief overview of vitamin D biology within the hair follicle, role in the etiopathogenesis, and rationale for supplementation in various alopecias.
Methods: A PubMed literature search was performed to review relevant current literature and studies investigating the role of vitamin D in the etiopathogenesis, as a supplement and a potential therapeutic modality in hair loss. Results and conclusion: Vitamin D is intricately involved in various signaling pathways of growth and differentiation of hair follicles. Vitamin D deficiency is also associated with scarring alopecia.
Hence, further studies are needed before vitamin D can be routinely recommended as a treatment modality in these condition.