Paper Title
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILING OF PREMATURE HAIR GRAYING (PHG) IN NORTH INDIA

Abstract
Introduction: Premature hair graying (PHG) is of significant concern in adolescent nowadays which plays pessimistic impact on one's social well-being. Existing literature have focussed on epidemiological profiling of PHG based on data of patients visiting dermatological clinics with small sample size, thus not reflecting prevalence. Therefore, an effort was made to check prevalence of PHG among the University students of North India. The pattern of hair graying, smoking, alcohol and diet along with family history was also assessed. Materials and methods: A structured questionnaire was developed and validatedafter pilot study. The target population were the students from North India studying in the Chitkara University, Punjab. Results: A total of 308 students from North Indian participated in the study having mean age 19.37 ± 1.9years (mean±SD). The prevalence of PHG was 31.8%, among which, 66.3% were females and 33% were males. The onset age of PHG was observed found to be even below the age of 10.In females, the parietal area (40.6%) was the most affected by PHG while in males, it was more common in the frontal area (43.8%) of the scalp. There was significant relationship between the family history and PHG (p-value<0.0001); however, no significance was seen concerning smoking, alcohol and diet. Conclusion: The prevalence of PHG in youngsters is increasing daily, having an onset age below ten and variation in graying pattern among females and males.Of all the factors tested, family history was found to be the significant risk factors associated with PHG.