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).
Many people who have vitiligo are often otherwise healthy. Even so, it's important to find a doctor like a dermatologist who knows about vitiligo. People who have vitiligo have a higher risk of getting some other medical conditions. You can also get painful sunburns on the skin that has lost color.
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 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.
What causes vitiligo? Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease. This type of disease develops when your immune system attacks part of your own body. If you have vitiligo, your immune system attacks cells in your body called melanocytes. These are cells that make pigment.
Stress increases the levels of catecholamines, neuropeptides, and cortisol that are higher in vitiligo patients [37–39] suggesting their role in the pathogenesis of vitiligo.
Vitiligo is a complicated condition that has many unknowns. The condition can start at any age, and may become more prominent over time. Whether or not it is associated with aging, or gets worse with age, is truly undetermined at this point.
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.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, up to half of people who develop vitiligo do so before the age of 20. But despite its high incidence in childhood and early adulthood, vitiligo can happen at any age, says the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS).
Moreover, people with vitiligo lack melanin, which is the body's natural protection from the sun, so sun exposure can be particularly dangerous. That's why it's vital that people with vitiligo use broad-spectrum sun protection with an SPF (sun protection factor) of 30 and above.
Vitiligo often starts as a pale patch of skin that gradually turns completely white. The centre of a patch may be white, with paler skin around it. If there are blood vessels under the skin, the patch may be slightly pink, rather than white. The edges of the patch may be smooth or irregular.
It is also true that the lack of pigment in the skin in vitiligo patients, which results from the loss of the pigment-producing cells called melanocytes, makes them more likely to burn when spending time in the sun.
About 15 to 25 percent of people with vitiligo are also affected by at least one other autoimmune disorder, particularly autoimmune thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, psoriasis , pernicious anemia, Addison disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, celiac disease, Crohn disease, or ulcerative colitis.
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.
Segmental vitiligo is unique, even beyond the fact that it doesn't cross the midline. It spreads very quickly, faster than the other forms, but only for about 6 months (sometimes up to a year).
Topical steroids. Topical steroids come as a cream or ointment you apply to your skin. They can sometimes stop the spread of the white patches and may restore some of your original skin colour.
Progression to non-segmental vitiligo occurred in 23%. The median follow-up duration was 7 years. In 11.5% of the patients, progression to non-segmental vitiligo occurred within 2 years after onset.
Complications of vitiligo are social stigmatization and mental stress, eye involvement like iritis, depigmented skin is more prone to sunburn, skin cancer, and hearing loss because of loss of cochlear melanocytes.
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.
To the best of our knowledge, vitamin D significantly affects melanocytes and keratinocytes. Studies suggest that vitamin D3 increases tyrosinase activity and melanogenesis in vitro [12], which may lead to repigmentation in vitiligo skin lesions.
For every 100,000 person-years, 503 people with vitiligo developed dementia compared to just 102 healthy controls.
Vitiligo causes isolation, stigmatization, loss of self-esteem, depression, and self-consciousness.