Thyroid Hair Loss in Women- Autoimmune Disease Causes Thinning Hair

Hair loss in women causes significant distress in the women who are affected. In many cultures, healthy hair is regarded as a woman’s crowning glory. Having hair loss can be damaging to a woman’s self esteem and her perception of her beauty. In the United States, almost 40% of hair loss cases are women.

The most common cause of hair loss in women is androgenetic alopecia. In many women with hair loss, the hair follicle is normal but the cycling of hair growth is abnormal.

An abnormal hair growth cycle is the cause of most hair loss problems. The hair growth cycle is divided into three main sections. These three sections are anagen, catagen and telogen.

Anagen is the growth phase. Anagen can last up to six years. Usually, around 85% of all our hair is in anagen. Catagen is the transitional phase. It lasts about 2 weeks. Telogen is the resting phase. Telogen lasts about 6 weeks.

The hair growth cycle shortens with age. Clinical hair loss is likely to occur when more that 100 hairs go into telogen in a day. There are sometimes other factors that cause hair loss, such as an improperly functioning thyroid gland or an autoimmune disease. Female hormone imbalances can also result in hair loss in women.
Thyroid patients sometimes experience extensive hair loss. This can occur whether the patient is suffering from an overactive thyroid or an underactive thyroid.

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that kills hair follicles. It can cause hair loss in teenage girls. Scientists have not established the cause of alopecia areata.

Source: Mayoclinic.com, "Hair Loss: Causes", http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hair-loss/DS00278/DSECTION=causes