{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T00:44:10Z","timestamp":1785545050660,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":14,"publisher":"JMIR Publications Inc.","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JMIR Dermatol"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec sec-type=\"background\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune, hair loss\u2013inducing disease affecting individuals of all genders and ethnic backgrounds worldwide. As social media platforms and artificial intelligence chatbots increasingly influence patient behavior, individuals with AA may turn to these sources for treatment guidance.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec sec-type=\"objective\">\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study evaluated the accuracy of AA-related information on social media and assessed whether patients were exposed to misinformation that could hinder appropriate care. Influencers may recommend treatments applicable to alopecia broadly or promote therapies lacking medical benefit.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec sec-type=\"methods\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>YouTube and TikTok were searched using the hashtags #alopecia and #alopeciatreatment. Posts were selected based on hashtag relevance. Videos were categorized using standard AA treatment guidelines into (1) accurate and medical data\u2013backed (aligned with guideline-supported treatments), (2) limited or anecdotal evidence (unverified treatments without clear misinformation), (3) misinformed and\/or false (inaccurate or misleading claims), or (4) other (unrelated to alopecia management).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec sec-type=\"results\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 98 YouTube and 222 TikTok videos related to #alopecia and #alopeciatreatment were analyzed. Of the YouTube videos analyzed, 76% (n=75) were categorized as \u201cother,\u201d 13% (n=13) as \u201caccurate and medical data\u2013backed,\u201d and 10% (n=10) as \u201climited or anecdotal evidence\u201d; no videos were classified as \u201cmisinformed and\/or false.\u201d Of the TikTok videos analyzed, 76% (n=170) were categorized as \u201cother,\u201d 17% (n=38) as \u201caccurate and medical data\u2013backed,\u201d 5% (n=12) as \u201climited or anecdotal evidence,\u201d and 1% (n=2) as \u201cmisinformed and\/or false.\u201d Among videos specifically discussing AA treatment, 56% of YouTube videos and 73%of TikTok videos were categorized as \u201caccurate and medical data\u2013backed.\u201d The difference in accurate vs limited or nonmedical YouTube content was statistically significant (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      =.002), while misinformation prevalence between platforms was not significantly different (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      =.15).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec sec-type=\"conclusions\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Patients with AA are frequently exposed to generalized alopecia content on social media, which may not consistently offer disease-specific guidance. Health care professionals should help ensure that social media platforms and artificial intelligence tools are leveraged to promote accurate education and proactively combat misinformation surrounding AA treatment.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.2196\/90088","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]],"date-time":"2026-07-23T18:41:35Z","timestamp":1784832095000},"page":"e90088-e90088","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Assessing Alopecia Areata Misinformation: Social Media Analysis"],"prefix":"10.2196","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-2082-8560","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shanika N","family":"Francis","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8307-4931","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ank A","family":"Agarwal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-4404-4828","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aaron H","family":"Fanous","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6546-2693","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dawn H","family":"Siegel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7988-9356","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roxana","family":"Daneshjou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1010","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]]},"reference":[{"issue":"2","key":"R1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"586","DOI":"10.1111\/jocd.15605","article-title":"Alopecia areata and pattern hair loss (androgenetic alopecia) on social media - current public interest trends and cross-sectional analysis of YouTube and TikTok contents","volume":"22","author":"Gupta","journal-title":"J Cosmet Dermatol"},{"issue":"5","key":"R2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"547","DOI":"10.1001\/jamadermatol.2022.0351","article-title":"Evaluation of the prevalence and incidence of pediatric alopecia areata using electronic health record data","volume":"158","author":"McKenzie","journal-title":"JAMA Dermatol"},{"issue":"2","key":"R3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"51","DOI":"10.4103\/ijt.ijt_99_17","article-title":"Alopecia areata: review of epidemiology, clinical features, pathogenesis, and new treatment options","volume":"10","author":"Darwin","journal-title":"Int J Trichology"},{"issue":"6","key":"R4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"621","DOI":"10.1001\/jamadermatol.2024.0594","article-title":"Stigmatization and mental health impact of chronic pediatric skin disorders","volume":"160","author":"Paller","journal-title":"JAMA Dermatol"},{"issue":"Supplement_1","key":"R5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/bjd\/ljae090.161","article-title":"BH14 bald-faced lies: a qualitative review of misinformation on alopecia","volume":"191","author":"Finnegan","journal-title":"Br J Dermatol"},{"key":"R6","unstructured":"Sforza L . Most of Gen Z using TikTok for health advice: survey. The Hill; Jul 16, 2024. URL: https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/technology\/4774795-tiktok-gen-z-health-advice\/ [Accessed 21-07-2024]"},{"key":"R7","unstructured":"Terms of service. TikTok. URL: https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/legal\/page\/us\/terms-of-service\/en [Accessed 03-07-2026]"},{"key":"R8","unstructured":"YouTube API services terms of service. YouTube. URL: https:\/\/developers.google.com\/youtube\/terms\/api-services-terms-of-service [Accessed 03-07-2026]"},{"key":"R9","unstructured":"What is data scraping? Stanford University. URL: https:\/\/irb.stanford.edu\/for-researchers\/for-non-medical-researchers\/guidance-specific-topics\/data-scraping [Accessed 3-07-2026]"},{"key":"R10","unstructured":"Hair loss types: alopecia areata diagnosis and treatment. American Academy of Dermatology Association. URL: https:\/\/www.aad.org\/public\/diseases\/hair-loss\/types\/alopecia\/treatment [Accessed 22-05-2026]"},{"issue":"3","key":"R11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"62","DOI":"10.4274\/jtad.galenos.2023.83803","article-title":"Social media use in patients with alopecia areata","volume":"17","author":"G\u00fcm\u00fc\u015f","journal-title":"J Turk Acad Dermatol"},{"issue":"6","key":"R12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/dth.14098","article-title":"Internet and social media use in dermatology patients: search behavior and impact on patient-physician relationship","volume":"33","author":"Gantenbein","journal-title":"Dermatol Ther"},{"issue":"1","key":"R13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s41687-020-00240-7","article-title":"\u201c\u2018You lose your hair, what\u2019s the big deal?\u2019 I was so embarrassed, I was so self-conscious, I was so depressed:\u201d a qualitative interview study to understand the psychosocial burden of alopecia areata","volume":"4","author":"Aldhouse","journal-title":"J Patient Rep Outcomes"},{"issue":"1","key":"R14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"123","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jaad.2020.03.004","article-title":"The Alopecia Areata Consensus of Experts (ACE) study: results of an international expert opinion on treatments for alopecia areata","volume":"83","author":"Meah","journal-title":"J Am Acad Dermatol"}],"container-title":["JMIR Dermatology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/derma.jmir.org\/2026\/1\/e90088","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T22:24:29Z","timestamp":1785536669000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/derma.jmir.org\/2026\/1\/e90088"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]]},"references-count":14,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2196\/90088","relation":{},"ISSN":["2562-0959"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2562-0959","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,23]]},"article-number":"v9i2e90088"}}