Prevalence of Vitiligo in the Tobruk District, Libya

Abstract

Vitiligo, a common depigmenting skin disorder, has an estimated prevalence of 0.5–2% of the population worldwide. The disease is characterized by the selective loss of melanocytes which results in typical non scaly, chalky-white macules. In recent years, considerable progress has been made in our understanding of the pathogenesis of vitiligo which is now clearly classified as an autoimmune disease. Vitiligo is often dismissed as a cosmetic problem, although its effects can be psychologically devastating, often with a considerable burden on daily life. In 2011, an international consensus classified segmental vitiligo separately from all other forms of vitiligo, and the term vitiligo was defined to designate all forms of nonsegmental vitiligo. The current research data-based work was aimed to illustrate the differences in vitiligo types of distribution in a specific region (Tobruk region), in addition to determine the effect of the gender, age, family history and presence of other autoimmune disease in the pathogenesis of the disease as well as the treatment protocol. The data showed that non-segmental vitiligo was observed in more cases than segmental vitiligo, in contrast, gender differences showed no difference in the distribution of the vitiligo types whether segmental or non-segmental. Segmental vitiligo was more common in children while non-segmental cases were more in adults. Patients with vitiligo have some psychological issues and the treatment protocol should involve both topical and systemic medicaments. More studies should be conducted to evaluate the reasons why treatment protocols vary between patients and in some cases, patients do not adhere to the medicaments due to the long period of treatment.