No, vitiligo is not a form of lupus. Both are autoimmune conditions that can affect your skin. If you have one, you are more likely to get the other. But they are two different diseases with two different treatments.
Vitiligo is epidemiologically associated with increased risk of autoimmune thyroid disease, type 1 diabetes, pernicious anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and Addison's disease8,15.
Vitiligo seems to be more common in people who have a family history of the disorder or who have certain autoimmune diseases, including: Addison's disease. Pernicious anemia. Psoriasis.
Vitiligo is associated with several comorbid autoimmune, systemic, and dermatological diseases, primarily thyroid disease, alopecia areata, diabetes mellitus, pernicious anemia, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, Addison's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, Sjögren's syndrome, dermatomyositis, ...
If you see white patches and spots on your skin, it's important to find out if you have vitiligo. This disease increases the risk of having some other autoimmune diseases like thyroid disease and alopecia areata. Some people develop hearing loss or a problem with their vision.
Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease of the skin, which means that someone with vitiligo has an immune system that is malfunctioning in a small way. The normal role of the immune system is to protect you from infections and cancer.
The one significant observation that we found to have the poor prognostic implication in vitiligo is the presence of mucosal vitiligo.
The disease does not affect life expectancy. However, it can have a significant impact on quality of life, especially psychologically and be responsible for disorders such as depression and anxiety.
Protect your skin from the sun.
A bad sunburn can worsen vitiligo. If you have a lighter skin tone, there's another advantage to protecting your skin from the sun. Without a tan, the lighter spots and patches are often less noticeable.
Vitiligo is an under-recognized organ-specific autoimmune disease of the skin that results from cytotoxic T cell-mediated attack on melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells in the epidermis (18). The result is the loss of pigment in the skin, visible as white spots (Fig.
As non-segmental vitiligo is closely associated with other autoimmune conditions, you may be assessed to see whether you have any symptoms that could suggest an autoimmune condition, such as: being tired and lacking energy (signs of Addison's disease) being thirsty and needing to urinate often (signs of diabetes)
A 2016 study found that 20% of participants with vitiligo had an autoimmune disease. The most common of these was thyroid disease, at 12.9%. The reverse is also true – in a 2009 study, vitiligo was significantly more common in people with a thyroid disease than a control group.
Disease Overview
The most noticeable symptom is a rapid loss of vision. There may also be neurological signs such as severe headache, vertigo, nausea, and drowsiness. Loss of hearing, and loss of hair (alopecia) and skin color may occur along, with whitening (loss of pigmentation) of the hair and eyelashes (poliosis).
Here, we hypothesize that patients with non‐segmental vitiligo (NSV), an autoimmune skin (and mucosal) disorder, may clear SARS‐CoV‐2 infection more efficiently and have a lower risk of COVID‐19 development.
If the vitiligo is only affecting a small area of the body, it may be called focal vitiligo, but I find this usually spreads and evolves into another form pretty quickly. The spots can spread a lot to involve large parts of the body all over, which is called generalized vitiligo.
Research suggests that most people who develop vitiligo do so during childhood. As you age, Dr. Mohta says untreated vitiligo often progresses to involve the surrounding skin or create new patches of discoloration.
Vitiligo — like many skin conditions — can be challenging to live with, mainly because of the way the skin looks. However, people with vitiligo are usually in good health and live normal lives. If it is not associated with symptoms that cause physical discomfort or complications, the condition may be left untreated.
The condition usually begins with small white patches in a localized area. If the vitiligo progresses it can gradually spread across the body over time.
Research Has Debunked the Myth That Vitiligo Raises Skin Cancer Risk.
Vitiligo occurs when cells that produce melanin die or stop functioning. Vitiligo affects people of all skin types, but it may be more noticeable in people with brown or Black skin. The condition is not life-threatening or contagious. It can be stressful or make you feel bad about yourself.
Mixed type vitiligo is a rare type of vitiligo. People with this type develop both segmental vitiligo and color loss beyond the area with segmental vitiligo.
In this study, vitiligo did not appear to be associated with a high body mass index, in contrast to most other autoimmune diseases.
Vitiligo does not pose a serious threat to one's health, but it can result in physical complications, such as eye issues, hearing problems, and sunburn. People with vitiligo also tend to be more likely to have another autoimmune disease (like thyroid disorders and some types of anemia).
Skin conditions such as vitiligo are not automatically classified as a disability, but can be categorised as a disability under the Equality Act 2010 if they have a major long-term effect on a person's normal day-to-day activity.