In agreement with other studies, autoantibodies in the lack of clinical manifestations have been frequently observed in our vitiligo patients, especially during the early phase of the disease. The clinical significance of this finding seems to be limited, with the possible exception of thyroid disease, and it needs further exploration, through large cohort studies.

Background: The prevalence of congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN) among newborns ranges between 0.2 and 6% in the worldwide literature. In the only available study from Italy the rate was 1% at birth and 1.4% at 2 years of age. Some surveys performed among samples of children and adolescents in other countries showed a prevalence which ranged from 1.4 to 4.4%. Additional data on the frequency in adults are not available. Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of CMN in a large sample of a young male Italian population, which is deemed to be representative of the general population of the same age and sex. Methods: The potential conscripts resident in the coastal regions of southern Italy, enlisted for the compulsory service in the Italian Navy, were called at the age of 18 to the Draft’s Council Medical Unit of the Italian Navy in Taranto to evaluate their psychophysical fitness to recruitment. All the subjects examined from September 2002 to March 2004 showing skin lesions evocative of CMN were referred by general practitioners of the Draft’s Council Medical Unit to the Department of Dermatology of the Italian Navy Hospital for confirming the diagnosis, which was based on the clinical features and the personal history. The confirmed cases were recorded in a predefined patient card, containing the main anamnestic and clinical data. Since the screening of small CMN in such a large sample of subjects was believed to be difficult, only CMN with a diameter ≧1.5 cm were recorded. Results: In 23,354 examined persons 157 CMN were diagnosed, with a prevalence of 0.67% (Bayesian 95% confidence interval 0.57–0.79); 126 (80.3%) CMN were medium-sized (≧1.5 and ≤19.9 cm in diameter), and 31 (19.7%) were large (≧20 cm in diameter). Three CMN (1.9%) were located on the face, 23 (14.6%) on the chest, 24 (15.2%) on the abdomen, 36 (22.9%) on the back, 48 (30.5%) on the lumbar area, 15 (9.5%) on the upper limb, 19 (12.1%) on the lower limb and 15 (9.5%) on the shoulder. No CMN was located on the head. In 19 cases (12.1%) ≧2 adjacent anatomical sites (shoulder/chest, shoulder/arm, etc.) were involved. In 73 moles (46.4%) terminal hairs were present. Eight CMN (5.1%) showed a zosteriform (i.e. segmental) feature. None of the examined subjects reported a personal history of malignant melanoma (MM), and no person with a history of MM was observed among all the enlisted men referred to the Department of Dermatology during the time of the study. Conclusion: The prevalence of CMN in the Italian young male general population is roughly in agreement with the rates detected in general populations from other European studies. The observations of this study also suggest that the risk of appearance of MM, at least in childhood and adolescence, is limited for medium-sized CMN.

The epidemiological data of the skin conditions considered in the present study can be considered roughly in agreement with those reported in the available surveys. Because they were obtained in a large sample of Italian young males from the general population, they can be useful for therapeutic and preventive interventions by the public health organizations.

Background: No reports on the frequency of X-linked ichthyosis (XLI) in the Italian general population and few surveys on the frequency of XLI in large communities in the world are available. Objective: The aim of this study was the assessment of the frequency of XLI in a large representative sample of the Italian male population. Subjects and Methods: This study involved young men who enlisted as conscripts in the Italian Navy from January 1998 through February 2002, examined, prior to enlistment, at the Draft Council’s Medical Unit of the Italian Navy in Taranto, Italy, to evaluate their psychophysical fitness. All the patients with an ichthyosiform condition were referred to the Department of Dermatology of the Navy Hospital, underwent a thorough dermatological examination and completed a questionnaire regarding their personal and familial history. Pertinent results of the other clinical investigations were recorded and the final diagnosis was formulated on the basis of all these data. Results: From January 1998 through February 2002, of 75,653 young men examined, 15 cases of XLI were diagnosed, with a frequency of 1:5,043 or 1.98 per 10,000 (95% confidence interval based on the Poisson distribution 1.01–2.90). Four out of 15 cases (26.6%) showed corneal opacities. No other significant associated pathological change was observed. Conclusions: As this study is a survey involving a large male sample, homogeneous with reference to age, race and country of origin (southern Italy), the frequency of XLI could be estimated at about 1.98 per 10,000 males. These data are roughly in agreement with estimates from other European surveys.

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