Clinical Patterns of Vitiligo amongst Patients in Benin City, Nigeria

Vitiligo is a pigmentary disorder of the skin with varied presentation across different populations. It may be associated with autoimmune conditions like type I diabetes mellitus, thyroiditis etc. This study sought to describe the clinical patterns of vitiligo amongst patients in Benin City, Nigeria.

This was a cross sectional study among adults with vitiligo consecutively recruited from the dermatology clinic at University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City. Diagnosis of vitiligo was largely clinical. Data was obtained using a questionnaire and analyzed using SSPS version 21.0. Categorical and discrete variables were analyzed using Chi square, Fisher's Exact, T-Test and ANOVA. p-value of <0.05 was considered significant.

A total of 40 patients were recruited for this study with males accounting for 24 (60%) of the study population. The mean age for the study group was 38.43  12.94. Non Segmental Vitiligo was more prevalent 27(67.5%) while vitiligo vulgaris was the most common clinical variant in this study 19(47.5%).Lesions occurred mostly on the exposed parts of the body (87.5%) but the mean VASI score was 4.81. Diabetes mellitus and alopecia areata were observed in 25% of vitiligo patients. Kobnerization was more on the extremities (p 0.034) while leukotrichia was more on the face and the trunk (p 0.046 and 0.005 respectively).

The pattern of vitiligo differ across diverse populations. The clinical presentation of vitiligo in this study showed some differences from similar studies and therefore suggests for more studies in order to have a consensus on presentation of this disorder.