Factors affecting quality of life in patients with vitiligo: a nationwide study

Abstract

SummaryIn vitiligo, areas of skin lose their colour and become completely white. These white areas, which are often irregular like islands on a map, usually stand out against the normal skin around them, and are very obvious in individuals with a naturally pigmented (brown or black) skin, or in white-skinned people with a tan. People with vitiligo can become very embarrassed and withdrawn, not wanting to go out or to meet people; as a result, the quality of their day-to-day life can suffer. Vitiligo affects between 0.5% and 2% of the population and treatment does not work very well. This study from South Korea looked at what factors to do with vitiligo most affected patients' quality of life. It was a large study involving more than 1,100 adults from 21 different hospitals. Patients filled in a detailed questionnaire called the Skindex-29 questionnaire and members of the study team examined the patients' skin. From the questionnaire results, what concerned patients most were whether the vitiligo was going to get worse and whether it was a serious condition. They were also concerned about how loved ones felt about it, and over half the patients felt depressed about their condition. Involvement of large areas of the body, or areas of the body that other people could easily see, particularly affected quality of life. Vitiligo is far from just a cosmetic problem: over a third of patients were affected emotionally even if the areas of vitiligo were normally covered up.

Factors Affecting the Psychosocial Distress of Patients with Alopecia Areata: A Nationwide Study in Korea

“…Our results suggested that AA could affect patients' QOL more than vitiligo or androgenetic alopecia, compared with the previous studies using the similar study protocol in Korea (Bae et al, 2018;Han et al, 2012). More patients with AA have impaired QOL than patients with vitiligo (symptoms: 30.3% vs. 14.6%, functioning: 71.3% vs. 48.8%, and emotions: 81.7% vs. 65.0%) (Bae et al, 2018). For hairspecific Skindex-29, the mean score of each domain was higher in AA patients than androgenetic alopecia patients (symptoms: 27.4 vs. 27.3, functioning: 38.7 vs. 24.0, and emotions: 48.7 vs. 32.1) (Han et al, 2012).…”

“…We confirmed that AA patients have markedly impaired QOL in all aspects of symptoms, functioning, and emotions. Our results suggested that AA could affect patients' QOL more than vitiligo or androgenetic alopecia, compared with the previous studies using the similar study protocol in Korea (Bae et al, 2018;Han et al, 2012). More patients with AA have impaired QOL than patients with vitiligo (symptoms: 30.3% vs. 14.6%, functioning: 71.3% vs. 48.8%, and emotions: 81.7% vs. 65.0%) (Bae et al, 2018).…”

Comparison of 311‐nm Titanium:Sapphire laser and 308‐nm excimer laser treatment for vitiligo: A randomized controlled non‐inferiority trial

“…Vitiligo is a common, chronic, acquired depigmentation disorder that profoundly affects patient quality of life ; treatment is often challenging . Narrowband ultraviolet B (NBUVB) phototherapy has been the mainstay in the treatment, and 308‐nm excimer laser (EL) and other laser treatments have also been used to treat localized disease .…”

A meta-analysis and systematic review of the presence of depression among patients with vitiligo

“…Pacienţii au tendinţa de a omite relatarea stresului psihologic la care sunt supuşi medicului curant, concentrându-se mai degrabă pe aspectul fizic (5). Importanţa stresului nu trebuie minimalizată deoarece poate duce la depresie, iar ulterior aceasta poate duce la ideaţie suicidală (6,7).…”