Clinical And Epidemiological Characteristics Of 522 Cases With Vitiligo In The Central Region Of China

ObjectiveTo investigate clinical and epidemiological characteristics among the patients with vitiligo in the central region of China and provide scientific references for their prevention and treatment.MethodsA self-made questionnaire was adopted for the patients diagnosed as vitiligo in our hospital from July,2014 to February,2017.Their detailed information on clinical epidemiology and relevant test results were collected by the professional staff for this study.All these data were input into the Epidata3.1 database and analyzed with SPSS 23.0 software.Results1.A total of 522 cases with vitiligo was recruited in the study,consisting of 265 male and 257 female.Among them,vitiligo most occurred in juveniles aged 9-12 years,which was about 13.0% of all the patients.More than 70% patients had their onset of vitiligo before their thirties.The mean onset age of male patients was 19.08±13.70 years,while the female cases was 21.85±15.42 years in this study.There was no difference between two groups(p>0.05).Among these children patients,their mean onset age was 5.83±3.37 years.The mean onset age of boys was 5.95±3.27 years,while the girls was 5.71±3.48 years in this study.There was no difference between them(p>0.05).The mean onset age of patients with segmental vitiligo was 18.01±14.24 years,while cases with vitiligo vulgaris was 21.37±14.68 years in this study.There was statistical difference between them(p<0.05).Among types of vitiligo,sporatic vitiligo was the most frequent one in this study.As to the affected sites of body,face and neck were the most common sites affected at first presentation(about 63.03%,329/522 cases)and followed by trunk(about 47.8%,250/522 cases).74 cases were affected with family history of vitiligo.First-degree relatives were affected in 20 cases(27.03%)and second-degree relatives in 17 cases(22.97%),third-degree relatives in 24 cases(32.43%).Among them,there were 13 cases(17.57%)affected with at least two generations at the same time.2.A total of 110 vitiligo cases was ascertained to be accompanied with other associated disease in this study.Among these accompanying diseases,allergic disease was more common(39 cases,35.5%),which including allergic rhinitis,chronic urticaria,and so on.Then it followed by thyroid diseases(20 cases,18.3%),which including hyperthyroidism,hypothyroidism,Hashimoto's thyroiditis,and so on.Other accompanying diseases included alopecia areata,bronchial asthma,rheumatoid arthritis,T2 DM,psoriasis,Sjogren syndrome,myasthenia gravis,neurasthenia,epilepsy,hyperactivity,and so on.3.There were 40 cases who had obvious precipitating factors associated with vitiligo in this study.Among these factors,negative incentives on the skin was more common,then followed by mental factors.Abnormal daily life event was found in 334 cases(63.98%),which were picky eaters,dreaminess,sleeping badly,smoking,drinking,and so on.Among 156 children patients,119 cases(76.28%)had various problem in their diets and/or sleeping.4.As to laboratory test,there were 492 cases underwent the antinuclear bodies(ANAs)test.89 cases(18.1%)was detected at least one autoantibody in their blood.ANA,anti-Ro-52 antibody,anti-SS-A antibody were more frequently detected than the other antibodies and more common identified among the female patients.The presence of anti-SS-A antibody was also associated with the disease duration.508 cases underwent their humoral immunity tests.There were 238 cases(46.9%)with at least one abnormality in their immunoglobulin or complement.The reduction of C4 level was more common among them.512 patients were performed their thyroid function tests,and 77 cases(15.0%)were found with at least one abnormality,including hyperthyroidism,hypothyroidism,and so on.500 cases were accomplished their thyroglobulin(Tg)and thyroid autoantibodies tests.Of these patients,83 cases(16.6%)had at least one autoantibody or Tg elevated,including Hashimoto's thyroiditis,and so on.Positive TgAb was more common among female patients.Positive TPOAb not only was more common among the female cases,but also associated with vitiligo vulgaris,as positive TRAb.282 cases performed their psychological assessment.Among them,there was 159 cases(56.38%)with various psychological problems,which including anxiety,depression,inferiority,and so on.But there was no association with their subtype of vitiligo.Conclusions 1.Onset of vitiligo was not associated with the gender in this study.Vitiligo mainly occurred in children aged 9-12 years.More than 70% cases had their onset before 30 years old.Patients with segmental vitiligo were affected earlier than vitiligo vulgaris.2.Among the concomitant diseases with vitiligo,allergic disease and thyroid disease were more frequent than other accompanied diseases.3.Obvious precipitating factors to vitiligo were found among some cases and negative incentives on the skin and mental factors were common among them.4.Positive ANA,anti-Ro-52 antibody,anti-SS-A antibody,TgAb,or TPOAb were more common in female patients than in male.Along with the extension of disease duration,positive anti-SS-A antibody was more and more happening.Positive TPOAb or TRAb among the cases with vitiligo vulgaris were more than segmental vitiligo.