Height and Risk of Vitiligo: A Nationwide Cohort Study.
1Department of Dermatology, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea.
Journal of Clinical Medicine
|September 10, 2021
Summary
Taller adult height is associated with an increased risk of developing vitiligo. This large-scale study found a significant positive correlation between greater height and vitiligo incidence.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Epidemiology
- Human Genetics
Background:
- Adult height is a known risk factor for various diseases.
- The association between adult height and vitiligo incidence remains unestablished.
- Understanding height-related health risks can inform preventative strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between adult height and the incidence of vitiligo.
- To determine if taller stature is a risk factor for developing vitiligo.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Korean nationwide health insurance claims data from 15,980,754 adults (≥20 years) from 2005-2008.
- Categorized participants into age- and gender-specific height quintiles.
- Employed Cox proportional-hazards models to analyze cumulative risk until vitiligo diagnosis or end of 2015.
Main Results:
- A total of 29,196 new vitiligo cases were identified over 136,020,214 person-years.
- A statistically significant positive association was observed between adult height and vitiligo risk.
- The hazard ratio for vitiligo was 1.36 (95% CI: 1.31-1.42) when comparing the highest to lowest height quintiles.
Conclusions:
- Taller stature is associated with an increased risk of vitiligo.
- Findings suggest height as a potential risk indicator for vitiligo development.
- Further diverse cohort studies are recommended to validate these findings.
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