Quality of life in patients with vitiligo in North Macedonia

Abstract

Vitiligo is an acquired depigmentation deficit with a high prevalence, ranging from 0.5% to 7.8%. The aim of the study was to measure the quality of life (QL) of patients with vitiligo, expressed through the Dermatological Quality of Life Index (DLQI). Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was realized in a period of 1 year. Two questionnaires were used in the study. Тhe first questionnaire contains data from the DLQI, designed for use in adults over 16 years of age, taken from the Cardiff University in the UK. The second questionnaire contains demographic and clinical characteristics of patients (age, gender, place of residence, marital status, education), activity, comorbid diseases and BMI, age at onset, site of onset of lesions, duration of disease, family history, type, activity, natural course, body mass index (BMI) and therapy. Results: Among 71 subjects included in the study, the total score of the DLQI ranged from 0 to 28 (from a maximum of 30 points), and the average was 11.70 ± 5.7. Female patients had greater QL impairment (total mean value of 8.03) than men (5.99); there was a statistically significant difference between both sexes (P = 0.019). The total score of QL in terms of symptoms related to the condition in the six domains strongly affected QL of 45.1% of patients. The QL was significantly worse in the studied group of 16-30 years (13.85 ± 5.3) compared to the population of 51-60 and over 60 years (6.75 ± 5.7, and 7.0 ± 2.3). As the age of patients advanced, the QL improved. Subjects with higher education had a higher score (14.41 ± 6.6; p=0.001). Conclusion: Female patients with vitiligo have impaired QL in comparison to male. With age, the QL in patients with vitiligo improves. Patients with a lower degree of education have a better QL