The Diagnostic Value of Serum Ferritin for Telogen Effluvium: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Study

Figures & data

Table 1 Mean Serum Ferritin Levels for Each Group

Class	Ferritin (ng/mL)		p values^a	p values^b
	Mean±SD	Range
TE (n=193)	24.27±17.11	1.6~91.9	0.000	TE* HC 0.000
FAGA (n=104)	40.40±35.43	5.4~203		FAGA*TE 0.000
HC (n=183)	45.55±37.88	3.3~272.9		HC*FAGA 0.259

Notes: ^aThe differences among groups were compared by one-way ANOVA test. The indicator of ferritin is different among groups. ^bThe differences between groups were compared by independent t-tests.

Abbreviations: TE, telogen effluvium; FAGA, female androgenetic alopecia; HC, healthy control.

Table 2 The Number of Patients in Different Serum Ferritin Levels

Class	<20ng/mL		<30ng/mL
	N	P values	N	P values
TE (n=193)	101	TE*FAGA 0.002	132	TE*FAGA 0.002
FAGA (n=104)	35	FAGA*HC 0.001	52	FAGA*HC 0.305
HC (n=183)	30	HC*TE 0.000	80	HC*TE 0.000

Notes: The number of subjects in different groups with different serum ferritin levels were compared by chi-square test. FAGA is different from HC if serum ferritin levels were less than 20ng/mL, while not in less than 30ng/mL.

Table 3 Binary Logistic Regression Analysis Between Telogen Effluvium and Ferritin

Group	B	P values	OR	95% CI
TE*HC	−0.041	0.000	0.960	0.948~0.972
TE*FAGA	−0.026	0.000	1.027	1.015~1.038

Notes: Binary logistic regression was used to test the relationship between TE and ferritin. Null hypothesis: serum ferritin was not related to telogen effluvium; alternative hypothesis: serum ferritin was related to telogen effluvium.

Figure 1 Flowchart of patients inclusion and exclusion.

Figure 2 ROC analysis of serum ferritin levels.

Notes: The ROC curves of serum ferritin for detecting TE from health controls (HC, left) and FAGA (FAGA, right).

Abbreviations: ROC, receiver operating characteristics; AUC, area under the curve; CI, confidence interval.