Alopecia Areata Symptom Impact Scale
The Alopecia Areata Symptom Impact Scale (AASIS) is a disease-specific patient-reported outcomes measure that asks participants about symptoms related to alopecia areata and how these symptoms interfere with daily functioning.
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that causes varying degrees of hair loss. The condition has significant ramifications for an individual's well being and quality of life.
| AASIS Symptom Items | AASIS Interference Items |
|---|---|
| Loss of scalp hair | Work |
| Loss of body hair or eyelashes | Enjoyment of life |
| Tingling/numbness of scalp | Interaction with others |
| Itchy or painful skin | Daily activities |
| Irritated skin | Sexual relationships |
| Feeling anxious or worried | Quality of life |
| Feeling sad |
Order the AASIS
Use our convenient online form to order the AASIS for use in your clinical research, clinical practice, funded and non-funded academic research, commercial research, or reproduction in educational materials or other publications.
AASIS Features
- Purpose: To assess the severity of alopecia areata-related symptoms and the impact of these symptoms on daily functioning
- Population: Patients with alopecia areata
- Assessment Areas: Severity of symptoms and the impact of these symptoms on daily functioning in the past week
- Method: Self-report or interview with research staff; paper-and-pencil or electronic data entry*
- Time required: Five minutes or less
- Scoring: A global symptom score can be obtained by averaging all symptoms items on the AASIS
- Reliability: Cronbach alpha reliability ranges from 0.77 to 0.93
*Electronic data capture offers several benefits:
- Allows symptom monitoring when the patient is away from the hospital
- Is convenient for patients, who can choose web access, personalized patient portals, or smartphones to access questionnaires
- Minimizes missing data, especially in longitudinal studies
- Provides accurate, real-time symptom data at expected time points
- Generates immediate feedback, potentially allowing caregivers to address severe symptoms more effectively
AASIS Language Versions
Click on a linked language to view a sample in PDF format.
Don't see a language you need? Contact us at symptomresearch@mdanderson.org.
| Psychometrically and Linguistically Validated | Linguistically Validated |
|---|---|
| Dutch | Arabic (in process) |
| English | Bulgarian |
| French | Chinese (Simplified) |
| German | Chinese (Traditional) (in process) |
| Italian | Croatian |
| Japanese | Czech (in process) |
| Spanish | Greek |
| Hebrew (in process) | |
| Hungarian | |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | |
| Korean (in process) | |
| Polish (in process) | |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | |
| Portuguese (Portugal) | |
| Russian (in process) | |
| Slovak | |
| Swedish | |
| Turkish (in process) | |
| Vietnamese (in process) | |
| Zulu (in process) |
Selected AASIS Publications
Validation
Renert-Yuval Y, Correa da Rosa J, Garcet S, et al. Analysis of alopecia areata surveys suggests a threshold for improved patient-reported outcomes. Br J Dermatol 187(4): 539-547, 2022.
Mendoza TR, Osei J, Duvic M. The utility and validity of the Alopecia Areata Symptom Impact Scale in measuring disease-related symptoms and their effect on functioning. J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc 19(1): S41-S46, 2018.
Mendoza TR, Osei JS, Shi Q, Duvic M. Development of the alopecia areata symptom impact scale. J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc 16(1): S51-S52, 2013.
Clinical Application
Han JJ, Faletsky A, Ghatnekar S, et al. Factors influencing alopecia areata treatment decisions: a qualitative assessment. JAAD Int 10: 77-83, 2022.
Winnette R, Banerjee A, Sikirica V, Peeva E, Wyrwich K. Characterizing the relationships between patient-reported outcomes and clinician assessments of alopecia areata in a phase 2a randomized trial of ritlecitinib and brepocitinib. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 36(4): 602-609, 2022.
Aboeldahab S, Nada EEA, Assaf HA, Gouda ZA, Abu El-Hamd M. Superficial cryotherapy using dimethyl ether and propane mixture versus microneedling in the treatment of alopecia areata: a prospective single-blinded randomized clinical trial. Dermatol Ther 34(5): e15044, 2021.
Fawzy MM, Abdel Hay R, Mohammed FN, Sayed KS, Ghanem MED, Ezzat M. Trichoscopy as an evaluation method for alopecia areata treatment: a comparative study. J Cosmet Dermatol 20(6): 1827-1836, 2021.
Lai VWY, Chen G, Sinclair R. Impact of cyclosporin treatment on health-related quality of life of patients with alopecia areata. J Dermatolog Treat 32(2): 250-257, 2021.
Alopecia areata has significant ramifications for an individual's well-being, including significant emotional and social consequences.
The AASIS is helping us understand how patients feel and function.
Madeleine Duvic, M.D.
Department of Dermatology, MD Anderson