Does the Saudi Population Have Sufficient Awareness of Vitiligo in Southwest Saudi Arabia? A Cross-Sectional Survey, 2022.

Background

Vitiligo is a common acquired hypopigmentation skin condition defined by an idiopathic, gradual, and restricted loss of melanin pigment from otherwise healthy-looking skin. The present study aims to evaluate the knowledge and perceptions of and attitudes toward vitiligo among the general population of Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia.

Methods

An observational cross-sectional survey targeting adults of the Jazan region was conducted in 2022. The data were collected using an electronic questionnaire distributed through social media in the region. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS computer program. Knowledge and attitude scores were computed.

Results

Most of the respondents (83.7%) had an adequate knowledge level of vitiligo, and almost half of the respondents (46.8%) had a positive attitude toward the disease. The majority of the respondents (84.5%) knew that vitiligo is not contagious. However, the majority of the participants (78.6%) did not know that vitiligo is an autoimmune disease. Most of the respondents (93.1%) do not avoid shaking hands with a vitiligo patient to prevent infection, accept food prepared by a vitiligo patient (69.4%), accept sharing a plate with a vitiligo patient (73.6%), and accept to be helped by a vitiligo patient (86.7%). However, about half of the participants (50.4%) refused to marry a person diagnosed with vitiligo. The knowledge of vitiligo in the study population was not correlated with any of the demographic characters, such as age, gender, education, or occupation (p > 0.05). The most important factors associated with good attitudes were male gender (COR = 1.92; 95% CI: 1.92−2.84; p = 0.001) and being aged over 50 years (COR = 3.06; 95% CI: 1.53−6.13; p = 0.002).

Conclusions

The population in Jazan had a good level of knowledge of vitiligo and a positive attitude toward patients with vitiligo. Social media is the source of information for vitiligo for the majority of the study population. The good attitude toward patients with vitiligo was more prevalent in males and older people. More efforts are needed to improve the knowledge of and attitudes toward vitiligo.