Patient Burden of Nonsegmental Vitiligo: A US Real-World Survey of Dermatologists and Their Patients.

Abstract

Vitiligo is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by destruction of melanocytes, leading to skin depigmentation. Vitiligo can have a high quality-of-life burden and profound impact on psychosocial well-being. The objectives of this study were to describe the self-reported patient burden among patients with nonsegmental vitiligo with≤10% affected body surface area, summarize the physician-reported psychosocial and psychological impact of vitiligo on patient lives, and describe disease characteristics and treatment history, goals, and satisfaction. Data were drawn from the Adelphi Vitiligo Disease Specific Programme™, a real-world, cross-sectional survey with retrospective data collection of physicians and patients with vitiligo, collected in the United States between October 2021 and April 2022. Separate surveys for dermatologists and patients contained questions on clinical and demographic characteristics of patients with vitiligo and burden of vitiligo. Treatment history, goals, and satisfaction were assessed together with the impact of vitiligo on quality of life. Sixty-one dermatologists provided data for 326 patients with≤10% affected body surface area (adults, n=221; adolescents, n=105); 90 of those patientsalso responded to the survey. The most common treatments were topical corticosteroids, topical calcineurin inhibitors, and narrow-band ultraviolet-B phototherapy, with the main treatment goal being repigmentation. Physician-reported treatment satisfaction was 56%; 25% of patients reported frustration with treatment options. Physicians reported impact of vitiligo on everyday life in 46% of patients. Patients reported 12.7% overall work impairment; mean scores for Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale anxiety and depression domains were 3.5 and 2.2, respectively, and mean Vitiligo-specific Quality of Life index score was 26.9. Patients with facial involvement experienced higher burden than those without. A high patient burden was reported by dermatologists and their patients with vitiligo who had≤10% affected body surface area, including psychosocial and psychological consequences. Thesefindings highlight an unmet need in the treatment of vitiligo.