Can anyone get Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia? Or do you have to have a family member that has Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia?

DUPA can be inherited or occur spontaneously. Find a hair loss expert.Jeff Rapaport MD FAADRealself Verified All-star

Hello and thank you for your question. Anyone can get DUPA and it is not hereditary. Best wishes. Dr. T

Diffuse Unpatterened Alopecia or DUPA is  a condition of air loss associated with some alteration or arrest in normal Life cycle to Hair Growth. There can be many causes of this to happen. These causes may not be hereditary. Some conditions as acute stress, physical disease, nutritional deficiency, normal child birth  etc. may trigger diffuse hair fall. 
Normally Hair goes through Anagen, or the Active Growth Phase,This lasts for 2 to 8 years. Then there is Catagen or  involution phase ,which may last for 4 to 6 weeks and  Telogen Phase which is resting Phase for 2 to 3 months. This is followed by Exogen phase where Hair is shed.
If this life cycle of Hair is disrupted then the hair fall can increase. Normally 100 to 150 Hair are shed per day .As these are in  the Telogen phase.
The causes of DUPA can be 
 1.Telogen Effluvium- The shock loss because of acute emotional or Physical distress. This cause hair to shift from Anagen to Telogen phase at a faster pace.
2. Anagen Effluvium- This can be  because of exposure to some toxic  chemicals as Chemotherapy , Radiation Therapy or Heavy Metals.
3.Mixed Alopecia where above two are mixed,

There are many factors associated with DUPA some of which are
1. Physical Disease as high fever, Any Surgery, Accidents, Trauma, etc.
2. Emotional Stress
3. Exposure to Chemotherapy or Radiotherapy
4.Hormonal Disorders as Hypothyroidism, Hyperthyroidism, PCOD etc.
5. Systemic Diseases as Chronic Renal Failure, Liver Disorder, Systemic Lupus Erythematosis, Psoriasis, Syphilis, HIV etc.
6.Medications as Anabolic steroids, Progestins, Anti Depressants, Retinoids etc.
7.Deficiency of Zinc, Biotin, Vitamin D 3 etc.
8. Autoimmune as Alopecia Areata
The DUPA can be acute , Subacute or Chronic.
In Acute loss the cause is usually some Physical injury, disease 2 or 3 months back. Acute DUPA lasts less than 6 months.
Chronic DUPA lasts  for more than 6 months.
Diagnosis of DUPA needs following
1. Hair Pull Test
2. Microscopic examination of Hair which  are shed to determine the ratio of Anagen and Telogen Phase.
3.Trichoscopy.
4. Scalp Biopsy.
5. Blood investigations as Liver Function Test, Renal Function Test, Serum Ferritin,  Thyroid Profile , Serum Testosterone, Serum Zinc level, Vitamin D3 level etc.
F

I wrote the original paper on Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia. We could not see a connection with others in the family line when we made the diagnosis