Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) is a common form of permanent hair loss that mostly affects Black women. What’s more, African-American women with this condition are at a higher risk of developing uterine fibroids, suggest new findings published in JAMA Dermatology, reports Newswise.  

For the study, researchers assessed the records of 487,104 Black women ages 18 and older during a four-year period from 2013 to 2017 from the Johns Hopkins Medicine electronic medical records system. Data showed that 13.9 percent of Black women with CCCA also developed uterine fibroids compared with 3.3 percent of African-American women who didn’t develop these fibrous growths in the lining of the womb. (This means that out of the 487,104 women whose records were reviewed, a total of 16,212 acquired fibroids. Of these women, 447 experienced CCCA, and 62 suffered from fibroids.)

According to Crystal Aguh, MD, assistant professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and one of the study’s authors, “The cause of the link between the two conditions remains unclear.”

But Aguh added that CCCA scarring is similar to scarring associated with excess fibrous tissue that occurs in other parts of the body, which may explain the connection between this common form of hair loss and an increased risk for fibroids.

This is why researchers urged physicians who treat women for CCCA to inform their patients about their risk for fibroids. These patients should also be screened for fibroids and other conditions associated with excess fibrous tissue, suggested Aguh.

Click here to learn how childhood abuse might be linked to uterine fibroids in African-American women.