"Childhood Vitiligo".

Vitiligo in children is a distinct subset of vitiligo and differs from adult vitiligo. Characteristic features include family history of autoimmune or endocrine disease, higher incidence of segmental vitiligo , development of early or premature graying, increased incidence of autoantibodies and poor response to topical PUVA. The exact prevalence of vitiligo in children varies between 0.1-4% of the world population and seems to be higher in India than in other countries and it occurs more frequently in females. Around 12% to 35% of pediatric vitiligo patients have family members with the disease. The most common type of vitiligo in pediatric patients is vitiligo vulgaris, representing 78% of cases. The most commonly associated autoimmune disease is thyroiditis. Phototherapy and topical corticosteroids are the most commonly used treatments for adult vitiligo but are less useful in the pediatric population.