The study suggests that patients who have vitiligo and use topical steroids periorbitally do not have an increased risk of glaucoma or cataracts. Future studies that have a larger sample size and use a detailed steroid use protocol are needed.

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There is no difference between the vitamin D levels of the vitiligo patients and the control subjects. However, deficiency of 25(OH)D levels within the vitiligo subgroups may be linked to younger age, male gender, short duration of vitiligo, and non-use of phototherapy.

There is a significant use of CAM among dermatology outpatients in Saudi Arabia. In view of the common belief that CAM has fewer side effects than conventional medicine, dermatologists need to increase their awareness of CAM.

BackgroundThe onset of vitiligo during childhood is common. Limited data exist that compare the clinical associations of prepubertal and postpubertal vitiligo in Arabs.ObjectiveTo compare the clinical profile of pre and postpubertal onset vitiligo.MethodsA cross-sectional observational study was conducted. The Vitiligo European Task Force questionnaire was completed for each patient.ResultsA total of 375 patients were included; 199 had postpubertal vitiligo (>12 years), and 176 had prepubertal onset vitiligo (<12years). There were more females in the prepubertal group (49%) than in the postpubertal group (29%), p-value <0.001. The prepubertal group has had more involvement than the postpubertal group (45% vs 30%, p=0.004). Only 8 cases of segmental vitiligo were observed; five were observed in the prepubertal group of patients. Female gender (OR=2.3; 95% CI:1.5, 3.5), presence of halo nevus (OR=2.2; 95% CI:1.1, 4.4) and face involvement (OR=1.9; 95% CI:1.2, 2.9) were positively associated with prepubertal vitiligo. Stress, as an onset factor, was positively associated (OR=0.51; 95% CI:0.3, 0.8) with postpubertal onset vitiligo.Study limitationsA possible selection bias toward more severe vitiligo cases can be a limitation, because the study was conducted in a clinic specialized in vitiligo. Moreover, a likelihood of false recall bias cannot be excluded.ConclusionsOur data present clinical evidence that vitiligo behaves mostly the same way in the prepubertal group as in the postpubertal group. However, female over-representation, more face involvement and more halo nevi were observed in prepubertal vitiligo, while stress was more prevalent as an aggravating factor in postpubertal vitiligo patients.