Quality of life for Korean patients with vitiligo: Skindex‐29 and its correlation with clinical profiles

Abstract

Vitiligo considerably influences the psychological well-being of patients. Disease-induced disfigurement can cause patients to experience a high level of stigmatization, which can lead to psychosocial stresses and negative impacts on quality of life (QOL). This study aims to ascertain the QOL of vitiligo patients compared to patients with other mild skin disorders. We also attempt to study which clinical features of vitiligo are closely related to the patient's QOL. One hundred and thirty-three vitiligo patients and 112 patients with mild skin disorders were analyzed. All participants were asked to fill out questionnaires covering comprehensive clinical profiles and the Korean version of Skindex-29. Statistical correlation between Skindex-29 and each clinical profile were analyzed. The symptom scale of Skindex-29 was significantly lower in vitiligo patients than in controls, but the function scale and the emotion scale were significantly higher in the vitiligo group than in controls. However, the difference in function scales between groups was significant in female patients, but not in male patients. Several clinical profiles, such as duration of disease, severity scores and previous history of treatments, showed close correlations with the function scale. Family history of vitiligo, Köebner phenomenon, patients' perspectives on disease prognosis, and discordance of the severity scores between physicians and patients also influenced the Skindex-29 subscales differently. In conclusion, the present study suggests that patients with vitiligo were highly affected in the functional and emotional aspects of QOL, with some sex differences. Various clinical features may play an important role in the QOL of vitiligo patients.

The Impact of Inflammatory and Infectious Diseases of Vulvar on Quality of Life

“…We found that the emotional condition of patients with VD and VE was negatively affected. In some of the studies that evaluated the emotional subscales of the Skindex-29, mean emotional scores are reported as 10.7 for striae,8 12.3 for ectodermal dysplasia,17 29.518 and 30.719 for vitiligo, 40 for idiopathic pruritus,20 and 48 for discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) 21. The mean emotional scores in the VD group were found to be close to those previously reported for DLE.…”

Development of a Quality of Life Scale for Vitiligo

“…Moreover, 82% of the patients chose the VLQI as the scale by which they could express themselves and which reflected the problems they faced better. Kim et al [11] also observed that the quality of life correlates with patient's disease severity, but not with the doctor's disease severity assessment. As Kostopoulou et al [12] were studying the factors determining the psychological effects of vitiligo, they found that the disease severity perceived by the patients and the personalities of the patients were the determinants of quality of life.…”

Comparison of the Psychological Impacts of Asymptomatic and Symptomatic Cutaneous Diseases: Vitiligo and Atopic Dermatitis

“…Psychological aspects of skin diseases, including atopic dermatitis (AD), psoriasis, urticaria, alopecia areata and vitiligo, have been widely investigated. Understanding the psychological aspects of skin diseases and implementing psychological treatment approaches have been increasingly emphasized1-5.…”

“…Vitiligo is characterized by hypopigmented macules of the skin or mucosa, with no accompanying subjective symptoms other than the skin lesion itself. Although vitiligo does not cause serious physical morbidity, patients with the disease may experience various degrees of psychological stress and altered QoL1,2.…”