Hepatitis C virus infection could be a risk factor for adult‐onset vitiligo in Egyptian patients: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract

Background Vitiligo is a common skin disorder resulting from the destruction of melanocytes. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been linked to a variety of extrahepatic manifestations, including skin diseases. Aim To measure the prevalence of HCV‐seroreactivity among vitiligo patients. Methods This cross‐sectional study included 108 vitiligo patients. Serum anti‐HCV antibodies were detected by chemiluminescence immunoassay. Results Eighteen patients (16.7%) out of 108 were HCV‐reactive; all of them had adult‐onset vitiligo. They represented approximately 34.6% of the total patients with adult‐onset vitiligo (52 patients). On the contrary, all patients with childhood‐onset vitiligo were HCV‐non‐reactive. Moreover, adult‐onset vitiligo was significantly associated with HCV‐seroreactivity (p < .001). Also, there was a significant difference between HCV‐reactive and HCV‐non‐reactive vitiligo patients regarding the age of patients and their ages at the onset of vitiligo (p < .001). Conclusions HCV may be the triggering factor for adult‐onset vitiligo, particularly in regions with a high prevalence of HCV. Therefore, patients with adult‐onset vitiligo, rather than childhood‐onset disease, should be screened for associated HCV infection in HCV‐endemic regions.

The Assessment of Infection Risk in Patients with Vitiligo Undergoing Dialysis for End-Stage Renal Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Study

“…The hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been shown to trigger adult-onset vitiligo, potentially due to the deposition of immune complexes causing extrahepatic inflammatory responses, particularly in melanocytes and keratinocytes [33]. Thus, the association between HCV and the risk of vitiligo is perhaps not unexpected.…”