Background. Alopecia areata (AA) is the most common autoimmune disease and the second most common hair loss disorder after androgenetic alopecia. To date, in our country there is not enough information on the prevalence of symptoms of psychological disor- ders in pediatric patients with AA.
Objective Determination of the prevalence of psychological and mental disorders in patients with AA and assessment of the quality of life (QoL) of patients with AA in childhood.
Methods. A cross-sectional (questionnaire) study was carried out at the Department of Dermatology with the Group of Laser Surgery, Center for Pediatric Dermatology and the Laboratory of Children’s Skin Pathology, National Medical Research Center for Children’s Health. The study was conducted from 07/15/2021 to 07/15/2022. Data collection came from the created National Registry for Children with AA. A total of 116 patients were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 9.3±2.8 years. The evaluation was carried out using Russian-language questionnaires (mental scales).
Results. In the course of our study, it was found that a decrease in QoL was observed in 63.79% of children with AA according to the
AAQL scale and 72.42% of children according to the AASIS scale. Clinically pronounced symptoms of anxiety and depression (according to the HADS scale) were detected in 23.27 and 22.41% of patients in the study group.
Conclusion. Being a chronic relapsing disease, AA has a pronounced negative effect on the QoL of patients. The disease not only has
a severe psychological impact, but also causes a noticeable disruption in the social life of children.

Keywords: alopecia areata, depression, anxiety, quality of life