Vitiligo vulgaris and autoimmune diseases in Japan

Abstract

We reviewed the causes of "loss of skin color" in 144 patients, who visited Vitiligo Clinic of Kyoto University Hospital between April 2005 and August 2008. The numbers of patients with generalized and segmental Vitiligo vulgaris were 98 (68.1%) and 26 (18.1%), respectively. Small numbers of the patients suffered from Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease, piebaldism, congenital albinism, Hypomelanosis of Ito, post-inflammatory hypopigmentation, white leaf-shaped macules associated with tuberous sclerosis and nevus hypopigmentosus. One forth of the patients with generalized vitiligo had complications, while no complications were found in the patients with segmental vitiligo. Among the complications, autoimmune diseases dominated 43% (10 of 23 cases). Autoimmune thyroid diseases explained for the most of the complicated autoimmune diseases and were associated with 7.4% of the patients with generalized vitiligo. Minor autoimmune complications include myasthenia gravis, Sjogren syndrome and autoimmune nephritis. Reflecting the condition that our clinic is located in a university hospital, vitiligo patients with end-stage non-melanoma cancers of internal organs accounted for 8.4% of the patients of generalized vitiligo.