When are laboratory tests indicated in patients with vitiligo?

Vitiligo has been associated with multiple endocrine and immune conditions. Several laboratory tests have been assessed in this disease with controversial results.

The aim of this study is to analyze the levels autoantibodies, basal glycaemia, vitamin B12, folic acid and thyroid function and its association with the diagnosis and outcome of vitiligo patients through a case-control study.

This case-control study was performed on 196 consecutive patients with vitiligo referred to our Dermatology Department. As a control group, 160 healthy individuals without vitiligo or known history of immunologic/endocrine disease were included. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 17.0 statistical software package.

Clinical, analytical and demographic data have been recorded. Our results showed that anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody and anti-parietal gastric cell antibody could be useful laboratory markers in a subpopulation of vitiligo patients. However, testing anti-nuclear antibody, anti-thyroglobulin antibody, folic acid and vitamin B12 seems to have limited clinical implication and diagnostic relevance in our routine clinical practice.

This study addressed a selected population of vitiligo patients in Spain and may not generalize to different clinical settings or regions. The study of a wider sample would confirm these findings and allow a detailed analysis of the above factors as a function of the clinical subtype of vitiligo.

We have determined the more efficient serological markers to order in vitiligo patients. Our findings suggest that anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody and anti-parietal gastric cell could be useful tests for the characterization of specific subpopulations of vitiligo patients in terms of severity and co-morbidity, so their determination could have a prognostic value.