Is Vitiligo A Common Disease?

Is vitiligo a common disease? 

Key points 

• Nearly 100 million people worldwide are affected by vitiligo. 

• Vitiligo is not common in some countries and is very common in other countries: in China 0.09% of the  population is affected, while in Gujarat (India) 8.8% have vitiligo.

• In females, vitiligo starts mainly in the first decade of life. 

• In male, the peak prevalence occurs in the fifth decade of life. 

• Presently, no convincing explanations are given to this wide variation of prevalence in different countries. 

Answer

The prevalence of vitiligo is believed to be  between 0.5% and 2% of the world population  onaverage, but local numbers may vary greatly.  Large studies in China, India, and Denmark have  found the prevalence to be 0.093%, 0.005%, and  0.38%, respectively. Gujarat, India is considered to  have the highest prevalence in the world with  8.8% of the local people affected by vitiligo. 

Men  and women are equally affected, but women are  more likely to seek treatment. In most studies, 20% of vitiligo subjects report  about a first-degree relative suffering from vitiligo. 

The mean age of onset is earlier in those patients  having positive family history, which ranges from  7.7% to more than 50%. Vitiligo is significantly  more prevalent in young women (≤ 30 years of  age) than young men. 

The peak in females occurs in the first decade  of life. Male peak prevalence is in the fifth decade of  life. 

Vitiligo is more frequently diagnosed in spring  and summer (64.4%).