Clinical profiles of vitiligo in China: an analysis of 3742 patients

Abstract

Very few articles have aimed to illuminate the clinical profiles of vitiligo in China. We conducted this retrospective survey involving 4118 outpatients with vitiligo in order to identify the differences among various clinical types of vitiligo and their associated disorders. Completed questionnaires (3742) were validated and analysed. Of this large cohort, 1565 (41.8%) individuals presented vitiligo vulgaris, followed by focal, segmental, acrofacial, and universal, in that order. The mean age of vitiligo onset was 18.88 years. More than 60% of the patients were affected before 20 years of age. Patients with segmental vitiligo were affected earlier than those with other types of vitiligo (15.55 years; (P < 0.001). More than 74% of the patients presented with focal vitiligo at onset. After 3-5 years, 99% of active vitiligo was worse and shifted from one clinical type to another. However, there was no transformation between acrofacial vitiligo and segmental vitiligo. Compared with the general population, the patients with vitiligo were more likely to be affected by rheumatoid arthritis (P < 0.01), ichthyosis (P < 0.01), chronic urticaria (P < 0.01), or alopecia areata (P < 0.01).

Vitiligo na infância: características clínicas e epidemiológicas

“…Em dois trabalhos realizados com pacientes de diferentes idades, o vitiligo focal foi a manifestação inicial na maioria dos casos, coincidindo com os dados encontrados neste trabalho. 13,14 Em relação à superfície corporal afetada, o acometimento era mínimo (inferior a 1%) em 71,8% dos casos, sendo que nenhum paciente apresentava acometimento superior a 50%. Estudo que faz referência à superfície corporal acometida também encontrou pequeno percentual, com 96,4% dos pacientes mostrando acometimento inferior a 20%.…”

Perfil epidemiológico dos pacientes com vitiligo e sua associação com doenças da tireoide

“…Increased frequency of type 1 diabetes mellitus and scleroderma was not found. 3,4,7,21 The presence of autoimmune hepatitis or parotiditis was not cited in the literature. The increased frequency of autoimmune diseases in patients with vitiligo suggests that all these conditions share a common etiologic factor.…”

“…5 Adults and children of both genders are equally affected, but some studies indicate a slight prevalence of cases among females, possibly due to greater psychosocial consequences caused by this skin condition; however, this 2.6 is not considered statistically significant because some studies show similar rates for both genders. 7 The site of onset and distribution of lesions differ according to age and region of the study population, but the most affected sites are, respectively, the head, limbs and trunk; the less affected sites are mucous membranes. 8,9 This pigmentation disorder follows a suggested classification because not all cases behave in the same way.…”

Association of C-469T of Interleukin 13 Gene Polymorphism with Vitiligo Development in Thi Qar Province/South of Iraq

“…Age of onset of disease was 20.9 ± 13.7. Most of studies demonstrated the onset of vitiligo was generally at less than 30 years in age [21,22]. Vitiligo does not show any significant association with gender (P=0.10).…”