Comorbid autoimmune diseases in patients with vitiligo: A cross-sectional study

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-1-2016

Publication Title

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Few large-scale studies have quantified the burden of comorbid autoimmune diseases in patients with vitiligo.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the prevalence of comorbid autoimmune diseases in patients with vitiligo.

METHODS: We conducted a manual chart review on a cohort of 1873 patients with vitiligo seen between January 2002 and October 2012 at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, MI. Patients were excluded if they had fewer than 2 dermatology notes (N = 595) or if they were never given a diagnosis of vitiligo by a dermatologist (N = 180).

RESULTS: Of 1098 patients with vitiligo, nearly 20% had at least 1 comorbid autoimmune disease. Compared with the general US population, we found a higher prevalence of thyroid disease (12.9%, P < .001), alopecia areata (3.8%, P < .001), inflammatory bowel disease (0.9%, P = .046), pernicious anemia (0.5%, P = .007), systemic lupus erythematosus (0.3%, P = .048), Guillain-Barre syndrome (0.3%, P < .001), discoid lupus (0.2%, P = .003), linear morphea (0.2%, P < .001), myasthenia gravis (0.2%, P = .002), and Sjögren syndrome (0.2%, P = .011).

LIMITATIONS: The study lacked a control group. This was a single-institution study with possible selection bias, and thus the findings may not be representative of the overall population of patients with vitiligo.

CONCLUSIONS: We observed a high prevalence of comorbid autoimmune diseases in patients with vitiligo and report several new associations.

Medical Subject Headings

Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alopecia Areata; Anemia, Pernicious; Autoimmune Diseases; Body Surface Area; Child; Child, Preschool; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Graves Disease; Guillain-Barre Syndrome; Hashimoto Disease; Humans; Hyperthyroidism; Hypothyroidism; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; Lupus Erythematosus, Discoid; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic; Male; Middle Aged; Myasthenia Gravis; Prevalence; Scleroderma, Localized; Severity of Illness Index; Sex Factors; Sjogren's Syndrome; Thyroid Diseases; Vitiligo; Young Adult

PubMed ID

26518171

Volume

74

Issue

2

First Page

295

Last Page

302

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