Study: Vitiligo treatment burden greater in women, adults with darker skin

MILAN — Vitiligo treatment was found to cause greater stress in women than men, and treatment burden was greater in those with darker vs. fairer skin, according to a study presented here.

“These findings highlight the high burden that patients with vitiligo endure with regard to starting and continuing treatment, difficulty finding therapy and frustration with treatment outcomes, which may lead patients to stop treatment,” Khaled Ezzedine, MD, PhD, and colleagues wrote in a poster presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress.

The cross-sectional online survey included participants from 17 countries from Africa/Middle East, Asia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe and the United States. Of the 3,541 patients involved in the study, 54.6% were men and 59.2% had Fitzpatrick or fairer skin types I to III. High BSA involvement was reported in 29% of patients as measured by the Self-Assessment Vitiligo Extent Score, according to the poster.

Participants with darker skin reported greater treatment burden vs. those with fairer skinned or high BSA. More women agreed or strongly agreed that cosmetics and self-tanners are expensive, that they protect themselves from the sun with sunscreen and that the consequences of treatments on their physical appearance caused stress.